AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
A convicted murderer who is also a prime suspect in the bludgeoning death of a teenage girl will be eligible for parole following a Court of Appeal decision.
The Parole Board Queensland failed in its bid on Tuesday to indefinitely suspend parole to Allan David McQueen, 55, after its decision was found to lack "procedural fairness".
McQueen was sentenced to life in prison in 1994 for the murder of a fellow inmate.
He was called before a 2018 inquest into the death of Annette Mason, 15, who was found dead in her Toowoomba bedroom on November 19, 1989.
McQueen denied involvement in the girl's death but was legally able to avoid answering questions as the incident occurred before coroners were given extra powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
After being released on parole in 2018, McQueen had the privilege revoked on numerous occasions including for driving with a drug present in his system and breaching a domestic violence order.
In June 2020, the parole board indefinitely suspended McQueen's parole in a decision that was partially based on "confidential information, that will not be disclosed because ... it is not in the public interest to do so".
"Prior to the conviction for murder your history included violent offending, including armed robbery, unlawful wounding, discharge firearm causing bodily harm, and steal with threats of violence whilst armed in company," the parole board stated.
"While in the community you have continued to be the subject of intelligence reports raising various concerns about your risk to community safety."
In August, Supreme Court Justice Susan Brown quashed McQueen's indefinite parole suspension on the basis of confidential information, ruling the parole board "must advise the prisoner of the reason for the decision".
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal found Justice Brown's interpretation of Corrective Services Act was "orthodox and does not disclose appealable error".
McQueen has been in custody since his parole was revoked in June 2020 and has previously spent multiple continuous years in a maximum security unit at Woodford Correctional Centre north of Brisbane.
