TUESDAY night’s bombshell admission that an additional 7,000 cases have been impacted by the failures of the DNA Lab add to the urgency for the Commission of Inquiry to be reopened.
It’s yet another sign of the chaos and crisis of this Labor Government.
After repeatedly denying additional cases were impacted, they have now reluctantly admitted additional cases have been compromised.
After repeatedly slamming the LNP’s efforts to keep the spotlight on the DNA Lab, they’ve been forced to admit they were keeping Queenslanders in the dark.
Queenslanders’ faith in the integrity of our justice system will be rocked by these new revelations.
At least 37,000 cases are now under a cloud due to the DNA Lab failures, but there may be many more.
Only a Commission of Inquiry can get to the bottom of just how many additional cases have been impacted by these failures.
Clearly, Queenslanders cannot rely on the word of the Minister and the Labor Government, when they have tried to convince Queenslanders there was nothing more to see here.
An independent investigation in full view of the public, with the power to compel information must be conducted.
The failings must be brought into the light, the truth must be exposed so these failings are never allowed to occur again.
An internal review is insufficient.
This is a staggering failure of Queensland’s forensic laboratory and the crisis continues to deepen.