Three inquiries are to be held into the death of an Aboriginal teenager in Sydney, and subsequent rioting in which about 40 police officers were injured.
Thomas Hickey, 17, was impaled on a metal fence after falling from his bicycle on Saturday and he died in hospital on Sunday morning.
Police denied he was being chased by officers at the time of the accident, but residents of the mostly Aboriginal inner city district of Redfern did not accept their version of events.
About 100 people came out onto the streets of Redfern last night, throwing bricks and bottles at riot police, and lighting fires. Water cannon were used to break up the crowd who had been pelting police with rocks, bricks and bottles. A train station was set on fire during the riot.
The only Aboriginal member of the Australian parliament, Senator Aden Ridgeway, said the violence was an indication of the poor relationship between the Aboriginal community and police in the area.
