On leaving court after his client, a Northern Territory policeman, was today acquitted of murdering an Aboriginal teenager, lawyer David Edwardson QC said: "there are no winners".
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After almost five weeks of evidence from more than 40 witnesses, Zachary Rolfe was found not guilty of murder in relation to the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker in the remote desert community of Yuendumu.
ACM's journalist in the NT, Sarah Matthews, wrote: "A light smattering of applause was heard from right-hand side of the court, while supporters of Kumanjayi Walker remained silent.
"After the verdict was handed down, Constable Rolfe hugged his lawyer, David Edwardson QC, and high-fived and winked at friends. Shortly after the courtroom had been cleared, wailing could be heard from inside among the Warlpiri community who had travelled to Darwin from Yuendumu in support of Mr Walker."
Echoing the words of NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner shortly after the shooting and before charges were laid, Mr Edwardson said "consequences will flow".
Another death, sadly, stopped people in their tracks overnight - that of Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching.
So respected was the 52-year-old that some of the nation's most conservative voices have joined Labor parliamentarians in paying tribute to her. Sky News commentator Rita Panahi called her "a warrior for Australia", while Andrew Bolt declared: "This is someone who had guts ... this is a politician who would defy her own party to fight for the right things."
And then there's COVID. Who knew 730 days could feel like this?
That's exactly how long it's been since the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic. Whether it's flown or dragged is open to conjecture and personal experience, suffice to say, life is very different now.
Remember when Delta was just another letter in the Greek alphabet or some random American airline mentioned in movies? Ah, the good old days.
This newsletter, was the brainchild of Gayle Tomlinson, who is now editor of the Illawarra Mercury. It was first published on March 23, 2020, and found its way to your inbox twice a day.
As COVID became a fixture in our lives, our coverage evolved and we calmed down on those email sends. But if you were an earlier adopter you would have received more than 630 editions of The Informer.
And as new voices prepare to write in this space instead of me, it seems only reasonable to go the full circle.
On March 23, 2020 The Informer shared news of the growing caseload of cases across the world, English schools shutting down and rainbows being plastered everywhere to lift the mood. The headline was "Spread hope, but do it from home".
Those rainbows are very much still needed. Just maybe not the natural variety for the moment as they need rain. And frankly, we're all a bit over rain right now.
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