Punishment in the Don Dale facility, Northern Territory
In his 2014 book, Dark Emu, Bunarong, Tasmanian and Yuin man Bruce Pascoe challenges white man’s history of Indigenous people as hunter gatherers, and instead puts forward an absorbing thesis, well researched and documented, of systems of agriculture, aquaculture and governance recorded by early white settlers, but somehow overlooked by those who have insisted upon an ongoing account of this country’s Indigenous peoples that denies them as anything other than primitive.
Every time we discuss this book in our household I express my disbelief that evidence such as that so compellingly presented by Pascoe could have gone unnoticed, ignored, concealed, disregarded, disrespected by the legions of white writers and commentators, to whom it has been available, if only they had cared to seek it, for the last two hundred plus years. Many white careers have been built on this wilful ignorance.
Why aren’t we teaching Australian children about the successes and achievements of Aboriginal culture? asks Pascoe.
Why indeed.
Of course the evidence gathered by Pascoe does not fit what remains the dominant white narrative, even after Mabo. Hard to declare terra nullius if the country is occupied by people who’ve devised successful and sophisticated system of farming and governance. Far easier if you frame them as primitive savages, flora and fauna.
The consequences of this cover-up, this conspiracy one might go so far as to suggest, have dominated white attitudes to Aboriginal people ever since invasion, and it should have come as no surprise to anyone when ABC TV’s Four Corners revealed on Monday night that Indigenous children are being tortured in detention facilities in the Northern Territory, and quite likely elsewhere in the country.
The Don Dale facility, and the horrors enacted within it, have not developed in a vacuum. They are the logical outcome of a brutal and expedient racism that has existed in Australia since 1788, and continues to thrive. It’s excruciatingly apparent that the torments perpetrated on Indigenous children in this hell hole have been known to Northern Territory governments for the last few years. Absolutely nothing has been done to alleviate this suffering, inflicted in the service of “law and order.”
I would like to point out here that none of the offences committed by the incarcerated children come anywhere near the criminal acts perpetrated upon them by those who guard them, those who oversee the guards, and those who turn their blinded eyes away from the sight of the children’s suffering. There is nothing either lawful or orderly about the behaviour of the men in charge of these children, or the men in charge of the men in charge.
There is a deeply ingrained culture, the face of which is for today the Don Dale facility, that has its origins in the denial of Aboriginal people as capable of agriculture, aquaculture and governance, and the framing of them instead as primitive savages upon whom it is permissible to wreak any kind of havoc deemed necessary for the protection and furtherance of white society.
Sick of your car being stolen? Get out the canisters and fucking gas the fucking cunt kids who took it because your car and your right to not have it nicked trumps a young black life.
Don Dale may be closed down, there will be a Royal Commission, right and left alike will continue to express bipartisan outrage but unless Australia’s fundamental attitude towards Indigenous peoples is changed, the suffering will continue.
I leave you with the words of Nigel Scullion, federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs. He’d never taken any notice of complaints that reached him about the mistreatment of Aboriginal children in the Don Dale centre, he said. The reports had never sufficiently “piqued his interest.”
No Place For Sheep 
I am so glad you called those fucking cunts what they are. Senator Scullion is like Senator MacDonald who didn’t read the reports into the abuse, rape, torture and criminal treatment of refugee kids.
I could handle the tear gassing but not the stripping naked of those little boys, the casual brutal torture of Dylan Voller but I lost it entirely over that fucking Gitmo chair. And this week Truffles demanded states push through laws for secret profiling and control orders against what will be muslim children the same fucking age.
These people from the top of the food chain to the bottom are fucking cunts and monsters who should all be sent to fucking Manus Island and be forgotten.
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Actually you quoted the arseholes who put their cars before ,the lives of kids, but I still say the only cunts where those who tortured them.
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Yes, I was quoting the guards who spoke about gassing the kids.
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Marilyan, them and a lack of supervision in the system which allows these things to happen. Same with the 85 year old who was assaulted in his nursing home bed yesterday, CLP/L&NP/LNP funding cuts to “people” related industries (government services.)
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Transparency would go a long way towards addressing these abuses.
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They don’t give a shit in the first place.
“It’s all their fault.”
That’s where the root of it is.
Resident guilt>hate>cruelty>denial>cover up.
Kick it in the grass.Repeat wash cycle.
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Another outstanding performance from Pell and his representatives on 7.30 tonight, following further allegations against him, now apparently referred to the DPP.
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Not sure if it’s cheque books or shredders I can hear shuffling.
Egg doesn’t stick to Teflon robes does it ?
Where’s Tony?
Not defending Pell,not in shock over treatment of his indigenous focus?
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Aaaaarghh! Not good news for would-be Pope Sanctimonious.
Kiddie-fiddling is traditional in the Church, and not just the Roman brand. Recruiting of priests has declined of late; perhaps because of reduced ‘benefits’ available to the priesthood. (?)
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What a strange, strange choice of words – “didn’t pique my interest”. He’ll regret saying that, one way or another. Not all that great on self-awareness, these Liberals.
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Very similar to what George Pell said about child sexual abuse victims.
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Perhaps there are other connections between Pell and Scullion?
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Just the language, townsvilleblog; the language of trivialisation.
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IMO a very potentially productive speculation, in a wider organisational and less personal sense, although language often flags such.
Paul Walter’s post later in this thread illuminates an important aspect of this blog post: https//noplaceforsheep.com/2016/07/27/why-four-corners-sickened-but-did-not-surprise/#comment-176877
” … a public diverted …”
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Thanks for that. You can see and hear the effects of brainwashing virtually every day..Sonia K is only the tip of a vast iceberg.
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Found out why that link did not go up live. Clunky Android. Annoying. Anyway, here it is with the inadvertently omitted colon:
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Indeed, but if I may offer a proof-reader’s perspective, I’ll suggest a malapropism may have been involved, if not in the statement itself in the reporting thereof. Yesterday, viewing my Twitter feed, I saw a re-tweet by @YaThinkN of a tweet by Peter Van Onselen purportedly quoting the Minister in this respect. As I had an idle moment, I tweeted a smart-arsed reply addressed to both:
Peter Van Onselen, or whomever he was quoting, had used the word ‘peaked’, not ‘piqued’, which piqued my interest and resulted in that idle play on words in response.
My tweet did not appear attached to the conversation, and appears in neither addressee’s @ mentions Twitter timeline. I’m assuming ‘correction by deletion’ has occurred. That is the problem with the internet, and applications like Twitter: some people see things in real time. And then put it on record, no matter how seemingly inconsequential it may be. And hey, sometimes, big stories get broken.
But that’s not how this story was broken. As many are now claiming, much of this has been known or knowable for quite some time. So is it churlish to ask ‘why now?’? And if there has been choice exercised as to time in releasing it, what is it meant, perhaps, to distract from, or serve as a launching pad for?
Slowly emerging evidence as to how this seeming groupthink culture gets to be foist upon us in our national politics, perhaps, or a fresh offensive to sweep that evidence away?
That’s what piques my interest.
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Brutal thugs brutalising children. How in the world do those kids come back from that. And that nasty weasel John Elferink, whose nasty passive aggressive comments froze my heart. He needs to lose his job real quick.
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I don’t think the kids do get back from that treatment. Has life long repercussions.
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It goes deeper, it is a societal problem, nothing for children to do, and apparently these days they have to have something to do, so they break into houses and end up in juvenile detention. Activities have to be provided so that the children stay away from detention and this comes back to parental responsibility and poverty.
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“It goes deeper, it is a societal problem, nothing for children to do, and apparently these days they have to have something to do, so they break into houses and end up in juvenile detention. Activities have to be provided so that the children stay away from detention and this comes back to parental responsibility and poverty.”
Nice try.It goes even deeper than that.The race hate fueled by guilt is the cornerstone of our society.Blaming indigenous people for the impacts of dispossession is victim blaming spin.
When Australians look their indigenous brothers in the eye or avoid crossing the street, and stop blaming them for outcomes forced upon them, we will move on.Can’t see it happening before the extinction of man.
The quality of human accepted into the ranks of police and custodian roles is as low as the IQ of the ministers handed the consolation prize of indigenous affairs.
I hope indigenous bodies refuse to negotiate with govt on any developments on the scam to develop the north.
In fact I believe the First Australians should have the top half of the continent as a permit only homeland.It’s clear white govts since the invasion are complicit.
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With quality politicians like Dutton, Hanson etc, we’ll be soon moving into a more enlightened period in Oz history.
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I’d say it goes even deeper than that Hypo. One reason this racism is so entrenched is because the wealthy and powerful elements of the global community simply don’t have the imagination to consider that life could function any other way than by extracting natural resources, clearing land to build cities, and making money during the day so that we can cower at night behind the closed doors of our comfortable homes and eat endangered species off designer tableware while we watch re-runs of our favourite TV shows… and god help anything that stands in our way.
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…and yet if capitalism collapsed tomorrow the race hate would continue.The local fact is *’we’ are 100% culpable and even more in denial.Worse, *’we’ have destroyed something really beautiful ,which is infinitely unique , and of immeasurable worth across the entire the cosmos,in the process.
Such contiguous connection to and understanding of a complete natural and spiritual system exists nowhere else.
*People can argue themselves in or out of the ‘we’ component.
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While I totally agree with you Hypo and Jennifer about race hate and/or ignorance, I don’t think that it is ‘only’ a race problem. We blame every victim.
You can’t keep dealing shit cards to one group of people and aces to another, generation after generation, and then be surprised when society collapses. ‘Sickened, but not surprised.’
We need to redirect funds that are currently going to elite and not elite private schools to public education in low socioeconomic areas, because only education can enable.
And we need jobs. Of course it’s the government’s responsibility to set up an economy that provides jobs, but he only jobs that pique the interest of our current politicians seem to be their own.
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Totally disagree.The problem is with us,society,non indigenous Australia.We still keep denying history .Throwing money at harm never undoes it.
Yep we need to keep funds flowing but we also need to recognise behind our suppressed collective guilt, is a community still mortally wounded in acts of current recent all history.
This country has a special hate it keeps on the bench so when no other football is available(Muslims etc) the indigenous population gets kicked around.Even today WA is hunting indigenous people as a police priority.
The time for excuses ran out with the referendum to recognise indigenous people as citizens. Rudd apologised for our subsequent crimes against humanity continue unabated.
“Go directly to jail, do not pass go,don not collect $200”
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Good posts peartonblog and Hypo, completely agree.
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And the never-ending funding cuts to services that might assist
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This is yet another practical demonstration of why the four party government continues to defund everything that relates to “people” the CLP/L&NP/LNP do not care for people I have no idea what the word pique means and am not interested in finding out, however Australians must come to the understanding that every ‘conservative’ politician on Earth all have one ultimate goal and that is for the 1% who have recently acquired 50% of Earths wealth to continue to acquire another 5% and then another…..
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It means stimulate. I think you’re right about the conservative agenda, townsville.
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Jennifer, please call me Shaun. This web connection has been set up for me by former mates, I didn’t know how to do it, but they were adamant that my political views should be online.
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OK, Shaun, will do.
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Once you understand that, anything that happens is no longer surprising, it’s just what tories do. We know corporations in Australia have not paid a cent in tax since 2013 when the conservatives were elected, at least 579 of them, the rest pay between 5% and naught, goodness me how much proof do everyday Aussies need to get angry, no wonder Bernie’s revolution got 30 million USA votes, and continues on, I’m left flabbergasted as to where is the Australian equivalent???
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That’s a good question.
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In detention?
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“… where is the Australian equivalent???”
Denied representational expression, its latent presence obscured and frustrated against a background of ‘false positives’ in the electoral process?
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If I read our blog host correctly, this exchange in outline begins to encapsulate the representational problem with respect to the ‘false positives’ of the electoral process.
You can only begin to get to grips with it when you recognise it as a long-term at least two-step process. If there is present a long-term unrecognised thumb on the electoral outcome scales then the responses of the candidate endorsement (pre-selection) process in political parties generally will throw up candidates that will appear relevant to deal with falsified or distorted issues. To the extent that such candidates, when elected, get to have policy formation input, that input will be skewed in the interests, presumably, of those facilitating the presence of the thumb on the electoral scales. And nobody, including the elected representatives, necessarily even knows themselves to be part of such a scheme and are left free in conscience to not be accountable to the electors who supposedly put them there.
A dispassionate non-partisan non-tribalistic consideration of the short (to date) and effectively accidental political career of Wyatt Roy would be capable of shedding so much tangential light on the subject of this blog post, when it is remembered that the career politician he was given an opportunity to displace was Mal Brough, so heavily involved in ‘The Intervention’ in the Howard years.
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Just as an historical footnote, Townsville, in the Federal electoral Division of Herbert, featured in an electoral enrolment scandal in, if I recall correctly, 1998. Those enrolment improprieties, due to the joint roll agreement between the Commonwealth and the State of Queensland, also affected the electoral roll for the State electoral District of Mundingburra.
Shortly afterward, a Queensland State election was held, with the result that an ALP government was returned that depended upon just one seat for its tenure.
A petition in the Court of Disputed Returns for the State District of Mundingburra resulted in a bye-election being ordered. The grounds for that did not arise from electoral enrolment improprieties, but from a contention that was upheld that Townsville-based Defence personnel then deployed in Ruanda did not get the opportunity to have their votes counted in the State election. The bye-election held returned a different candidate, and as a consequence the Queensland government changed on the floor of the Parliament. (One can probably divine from this a reason for the arguably over-awing presence of A-G Brandis as we speak at the scrutiny of the re-count in Herbert, given the publically-noised contention that Townsville-based Defence personnel have again been denied having their votes counted in the recent Federal elections.)
Notwithstanding all of the aforegoing utterly absorbing range-of-the-moment foci for partisan political outrage, in 2000 a Commonwealth Parliamentary Inquiry was held into the integrity of the (joint) Australian electoral rolls, an inquiry also referred to as the Pyne Committee of Inquiry, after the name of its Chair.
One of the most interesting submissions to this inquiry was one by Professor Emeritus Colin Hughes, who had formerly been Australian Electoral Commissioner 1984-1990. Perhaps in anticipation that the Commonwealth Electoral Act may have been then about to be changed to permit a complete scrapping and reconstruction from fresh enrolment claims of the roll for the Division of Herbert, Hughes made an intriguing claim in his submission.
In extremely nuanced language Hughes forecast that if that roll was so scrapped and reconstructed from ‘first principles’, he expected that (from my memory) around 30 to 40 percent of the names previously carried on the roll would not present claims at a re-enrolment.
From memory, I do not think Hughes commented as to how many names new to the roll might have had claims for enrolment lodged, ‘in replacement’, so to speak, at that same prospective event. (That’s nuanced language too, from me.)
In isolation Hughes’ claim may not have been seen as significant, and may have been thought to have been easily explained-away in any case, and so it has seemingly been. If, however, the number of names on rolls Australia-wide represented a very high proportion of the number theoretically entitled to be enrolled, then Hughes’ professionally-educated guess, was it to have been borne out in an actual roll reconstruction, would have betrayed a very high level of names being ‘out of place’, to say the least.
Just to give you some idea of the potential scale of what could easily be much more than a problem of names merely being ‘out of place’, TownsvilleBlog. Hughes’ submission is published on the APH website.
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In Australia we do not rehabilitate ,we punish, and HOW, makes me ashamed just to live here. The world is watching, yet again, this is how we treat Aboriginal children and teenagers. People, even some politicians express their horror, and conveniently forget that it has been happening for years; they act as if they just found out…!
The abuse of asylum seekers in detention was not causing sleepless nights for many; now they are almost forgotten.
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Yes, Helvi, there’s a wide streak of cruelty in our national psyche, expressed against the vulnerable.
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Yes, it’s the colonial fantasy of transportation as well as that of poisoning of Australian Aboriginals’ wells, that is alive and well in 21st century.
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31.07.16
Letter to the Editor
The 51st and best State of the United States in which to live until recent decades has in the recent past seen some very disturbing situations, while under conservative rule. We have seen the treatment of minorities come in to public scrutiny in many ways. We have seen the growth sector of poverty increase the number of Australians to in excess of 2.5 million Australians living below the poverty line, and many social problems related to poverty, crime food shortages etc. come to public notice.
The solutions that we trust governments to supply to these situations are not forthcoming from conservative governments. There is a transition underway but it is not so much a transitioning economy, as it is a transition of wealth away from the general public and towards those who are already wealthy, thanks to conservative government policies. These governments do not rate well on matters of “people” or of “poverty” or of “the ever widening gap between rich and poor” as government policy is facilitating the worsening in all three situations.
It appears to me that the conservatives primary job is to shovel “our” taxpayers money into multinational corporations, who themselves pay little to no tax for the betterment of Australian society, very much similar position to the other 50 States.
Regards,
Shaun Newman
13 Laura Court, Deeragun
Townsville, North Queensland, 4818
Ph: 0747516184
Email – sne35565@westnet.com.au [1]
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Bravo Shaun,but I would take down some of your personal details (get JW to?) to avoid massive spamming etc.
(The net and newspapers have different levels of nuisance)
I would add to your sentiment that the RC is looking more and more like a ‘kicking into the long grass’ exercise.Especially if it turns out Giles is heading for Canberra.In other words “Mal Brough series 2”.So the Libs will pull out all stops to save Giles ass, which will be the underground motivation of this event..
So, as of today I have NO faith is this RC doing anything but further blaming indigenous people,giving race hate more momentum and wasting tens of millions of dollars on lawyer mates of those in govt.
Sen Pat Dodson should change tack and lead on making the top end a Commonwealth of Homelands and seek recognition of that, a comprehensive treaty drafted by and for First Australians, and an honest fully reformed constitution thereof, for the land stolen from his people,by force.That should be line number one, and the last line in any constitution.
This Nation (under the scourge of govts prostituted to corporations) is almost at the point of total moral bankruptcy.So,indigenous people may yet save us from ourselves.
And perhaps the First Australians should collectively sue the crown for the primary damages of dispossession, and the secondary harm of alcohol,drugs etc.
One things for sure ,negotiating development of the top end just ground to a halt.
This is a good thing.The multinationals were (are) going to drain all the aquifers,log the place into oblivion and leave dead barren holes across the landscape, only to walk away with perverse contracts locking local communities into cleaning up the effluent left behind by the greed warrior classes.
Giles? He is a disgrace of the lowest order.A missionary with a forked tongue,like those who paved his way.
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Shaun, agree with Hypo, take your address down, a lot of abuse has been heaped on me for just mentioning the place where I happen to live
.
Someone recognised my JR from one of the sites I been part of; luckily she turned out to be a very nice woman….
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Has gone backwards increasingly rapidly over the last generation.
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Sadly, no surprises, except that the videos still exist at all.
The federal government takes a convenient way out – announce a Royal Commission.
The Territory government claims to be the three wise monkeys.
The result will be to scapegoat a few officers, as usual.
And so it goes.
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Until we become too sickened to permit it to continue…
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As a nation we have had over 200 years to feel nauseous.
Think the gag reflexes are reserved for other purposes.
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This is true, Hypo.
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The Chief Minister should be sacked along with his govt.
He said words to the effect ‘I didn’t think it was this bad’
Think about that for a minute.I mean REALLY think.
Those at the coal face of indigenous issues have zero respect for Scullion.This includes scholars.lawyers and many esteemed individuals across the nation.
What we know (a constant)
This country reserves its most vicious hate ,racism inhumanity & damage to its own indigenous people.
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Royal Commissions = “kicking it into the long grass”
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Surely the AFP can take action NOW?
Torture of minors is illegal isn’t it? (I was going to write “torture is illegal” but amended it to referencing minors, I have a feeling there is core and non-core torture of adults).
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I do not want to stray into a discussion of the capabilities of the AFP – I simply want to understand why we go straight to an RC on behaviour that is patently criminal.
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Royal Commissions = “kicking it into the long grass”
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Yes, I believe the tapes have been given to police…what they do is anybody’s guess
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In defence of going straight to a Royal Commission, police can only prosecute based on evidence presented, and Courts will not convict unless the matters are proved beyond reasonable doubt. A Royal Commission can investigate further and go up the food chain, and go behind the scenes to ferret out proof. The resources and powers are greater than the police can possibly bring to bear.
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In the real world a RC is more independent.The police investigating peers ?
Yeah nah.
Self regulation.Meh.
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I understand your point DQ. I am concerned that the perps we saw on video, will continue to abuse, while a load of smoke, mirrors and general B/S will delay an RC that clearly requires independence from the NT government.
Immediate action on the clearly guilty, who are, no doubt, just minions given license with the present polices of dealing with minors.
We can do both.
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Despite calls from the elders,the judiciary and intellects of Australia to broaden the RC, Brandis is acting to further hide the serial cruelty,violence and corruption.Damage control and $$$ defense is paramount.There must be no minute crack left open for national justice or open scrutiny.
On the west coast>The WA Premier has already declared his state should be quarantined from scrutiny, ‘cos innocent’.Cos ‘we have safeguards’.
Alas the Premier doesn’t want anyone from outside asking those in custody how it’s going for them.
(This is the the same state who cooked a man alive, and let a woman die despite her many pleas for help.)The same state which uses more resources chasing and impounding indigenous people than any other .A state where homeless indigenous ppl cannot seek refuge on sacred land-Heirisson Island, where the statue of their warrior hero ‘Yagan’, is)
Late yesterday WA’s highest ranked police officer ‘conveniently’ laid out a case for the policy to lock up as many of a particular demograph as possible,thus trying to head off obvious questions should the silks come-a-knocking.
QLD is now ‘coming clean’ on the level of institutional cruelty.
Where was Mr Indigenous Captain the PM for Women and First Australians call duringf all of this?
Expect denial to rain down from the heavens at every turn, over this.
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Another useful take on this issue (in addition to Jennifer’s*-) http://theconversation.com/four-corners-why-did-the-two-previous-investigations-have-no-impact-on-changing-this-abuse-63042
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The ‘surprised’ Malcolm looked a bit worried and thought I’d better do something ‘decisive’ and Royal, it’s kind of more impressive, coz it costs money…
The Liberal politicians all remembered to praise Mal as a very decisive PM.
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Agile about it, wasn’t he?
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LOL, he’s quick on his feet, our man of action.
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Slow -brained, however. Not capable of seeing long-term consequences.
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And on Monday he demanded the states push through the profiling and torture of and abuse of kids as young as 14 by saying they are ‘terrorists”.
Suddenly that went all quiet didn’t it after 4 Corners.
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Where’s Abbott? The self anointed angel of indigenous people
Drafting a ‘gotta be cruel to be kind’ Catholic missionary response?
Pathetic.Obviously all too hard for simpletons.
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Giles will be gone in a week.There won’t be much bark left on his govt after this.
NLC was right all along.
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Glad to see it got an airing here.
I’d add that I agree wholeheartedly that colonialism has been such a brutal phenomena as applied in Australia, that the dysfunctionality of many indigenes “left behind” in places like the Todd River bed can only be seen as inevitable.
Individual dysfunctionality is not a racial phenomena, it relates to background, I see some bad examples in my own white working class community with its undercurrents of domestic violence, substance abuse and heavy drinking, going back replicated generation after generation.
You can’t bring up kids under chaotic circumstances and expect normality. You won’t get it with subjugated working class people in general and certainly no hope where the oppression is overt and virtually state sanctioned, as has occurred with indigenes.
And besides, it is so convenient to have indigenes as scapegoats when it draws attention away from others’ shortcomings.
Back to Turnbull and his corrupt idea of tax cuts for the rich. These tax cuts come at the expense of revenue needed for social infrastructure.
For Turnbull to turn around and wring his hands in mortification at Don Dale is laughable given his genral policy thrust.
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PW, it seems self-evident that to treat a young human with abject cruelty will do it and society no good at all, and yet our leaders seem entirely comfortable so doing, until they get caught at it.
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It is because they do not realise the extent to which they are brutalised or coarsened themselves, by the system at this time in history.
The pathology expressing itself in the actions of the guards and what’s identified at Don Dale is what’s accidentally visible for a moment, of an entire system, including the hidden psychic underbelly of nice people in suits running things who actually
determine how things are run.
It is in the back of my mind, how parallel the treatment of aborigines is to the treatment of refugees and how politicians beholden to big money supporters employ race, class, ethnicity and gender to propagate the circumstances under which they can achieve their masters goals free of interference from a public diverted to consideration of symptoms rather than an examination of the underlying causes.
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We (Australia) perfected the torture rape and mental anguish over 2 plus centuries, on home turf(stolen) .This country has perfected the process.
Covering it up after comprehensive denial competes the trifecta.
Nice work from so called christians.
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Did you by any chance watch the ABC series Cleverman PW? I think it explored these matters and well.
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Completely missed it- been too offended with the ABC lately to follow it much.
That means I missed this option, at least for now.
But I enjoy dystopic stuff, all the way from HG Wells to Margaret Attwood, not that the sorts of books or movies or teev are usually especially cheerful. But in a world where a spade is not to be called a spade, problems presented in the abstract are often the only way taboo subjects about social structure and top down, ignorance-driven power can be presented by concerned and perceptive observers.
Must have a diddle with IView and see if I can connect with it from that trajectory instead.
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Cleverman is really smart TV
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In the case of RC into indigenous issues,corruption or enviro issues, they are normally a firing of a warning shot to the guilty via lawyers,and a signal for the govt and guilty parties, to begin paper shredding and to hint that ‘next time hide the behaviour better’.
QLD and WA would have you believe that their states are clean of taint,and that Ms Dhu,Mr Roe and Mr Doomagee were all just mirages.
[Remember these incidents were vile hateful acts in a modern society many years after a RC was supposed to end a virtual war on our indigenous people exposed to the legal system]
Go ahead with the NT ‘look over there’ exercise, but follow up with a national enquiry.This time with repercussions right to the top.
There is no way the offending states police forces can deliberately harvest indigenous people in such large numbers, [sweeping them out of our sight], and not be crossing the line in the incarceration phase.None.
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I’ve just watched 7.30 report, entirely devoted to criminal allegations against George Pell.
I can’t express my thoughts at this minute.
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Oh no, not poor old Georgy?
The same machine at play.
Missionaries plough the fields of destruction that industry and govt harvests of fruit.
Religion is the fluffer for the Rogering ahead.
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We all know who our pollies have been listening to when they babble they didn’t know
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I think I can guess. The hypocritical serial groper has been covering up for his similarly inclined colleagues and sabotaging inquiries and investigations for decades.
Disgusting, perverted – and unsurprising.
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To my favourite (unrelated) niece, thank you for an excellent piece long needed to back up the shock that television exposure can do.
I also thank you for the reference to Bruce Pascoe’s work, where I fear it is my neglect that I haven’t read. I’ll try to catch up. I can relate certain direct experiences which likewise contradict the Terra Nullius view we have of indigenous history. Both occurred in Western Victoria, which is now my abode.
The first was in the Grampians, where an Information Centre was set up to outline indigenous history in that area, run and developed by indigenous people and linked to their work as Rangers in the vicinity. At one point there was a move to restore the original name of Garawerd, but this got howled down by the same nutters who think the Muslims are taking Christmas away from them. A pity really, because the sound seems to convey a link to the past, with images of fog-surrounded mountains. There I discovered for the first time that the locals had lived in stone cottages, a very sensible thing in the winter months. Our teaching had suggested they’d lived in humpies or under the stars.
The second was closer to Portland at Lake Condah. There the original settlers had constructed an elaborite system of canals and channels as a way of farming and collecting eels, which do come a fair distance inland from the coast. Parramatta, 15 miles from Sydney Cove had eels in its area. The name itself was an indigenous word for eel.
Just those two examples give a different perspective. There’s more, such as our attitude to indigenous sports people, which is only just levelling out now, albeit still some residual examples such as the organised booing of Adam Goodes.
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I’ve acquired an (unrelated) uncle, thank you gorgeousdunny, what a lovely idea.
You might also like Bill Gammage’s The Biggest Estate on Earth if you haven’t read it yet: he has such a poetic sensibility and vision, he’s inspirational I think. I just read his very nuanced explanation of the difference between farming as a western notion and the *farming* practices of Aboriginals: it was quite beautiful.
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‘As a mother’ Kruger does not seem outraged about other peoples children being tortured, in her own state and country.
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Can I ask that JW re-opens a Pell thread so this one does not get buried in his effluent?This issue is a standalone and too important IMHO.
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Plan to do a post when I have the time, Hypo, until then will reopen another.
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This is the last blog on Pell, when Minchin wrote his song. Open for comments.
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Good one JW.>
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Interesting times of flux, the age of Anglo greed and lies is crumbling.
Our politicians must be held accountable and their vested interest’s exposed.
Keep up the good fight…
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Where is the serial outrage industry and so called child advocates?
The MTRs and Hetty Johnsons etc.
Butterfly thingame’s
Where has all the care,concern,commentary gone from those who built an empire on the back of children’s welfare?
These the ;
Wrong
-demograph ?
-Colour?
-Distance?
>children
And where’s Tony Abbott, Knight in Shining Shimmering Steel, for all indigenous causes?
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That’s a jolting thought also. You are in good form, Hypo.
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Predictable really.There was hardly any noise from ‘certain quarters’ condemning the decades of known church paedophilia while the ‘outrage junket’ did their school tours for cash in the background.
Business as usual?
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Any chance of a (prime) Ministership for Tones? The minister for roads, women and indigenous will remain MIA.
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He has all the ‘qualities’ of a Liberal leader and more.
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The TOR and presiding judge have Brandis written all over them.
Be prepared to witness the wrath of Pat Dodson after the next few days.
Or a change of minds on TOR etc, if Turnbull regains his brain.
(Not likely)
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Newscorp sends out the big guns.
(Read it before it fades away.
Excuse me while I reach for the salt.
Ex prison governor knows best?
Yeah nah.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/rendezview/stop-the-overreaction-this-was-not-torture/news-story/7d2e9854021b2a9d9589e33599a48f9b
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And Brandis thinks Giles and his govt should play a role in this RC?
Kids try to escape Guantanamo NT style and get a sued by the sane toture overseers?
http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/nt-prison-report-to-be-released-next-week/news-story/1e2be83cc8cc7f8306e72991fe106efa
This further demonstrate Brandis incompetence, as his chosen parameters risk undermining the integrity of the institution of RC’s.
Not to mention compromises ‘just’ outcomes.
No wonder he left law to become a permanent drain on taxpayers.
I hope Pat Dodson comes away from the Gama Festival with a petition to not co-operate with this flawed RC.
Labor ?
Where are Labor?
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Finally>
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-30/juvenile-detention-inquiry-needs-two-commissioners-shorten-says/7674838
And as usual Joyce sticks his big cheesy club foot is expansive baleen gob.
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Worth reading and digesting>
“We need an inquiry into the whole Northern Territory ”
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/we-need-an-inquiry-into-the-whole-northern-territory-20160729-gqgnvn.html
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Growing speculation juvenile detention commissioner Brian Martin will stand down
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-01/speculation-brian-martin-will-stand-down-from-royal-commission/7677400
One wonders why?
>https://newmatilda.com/2016/07/28/nt-juvenile-detention-abuse-royal-commissioner-needs-no-introduction-to-black-territorians/
Wonder no more.
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and………… he stands down..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/
Narrowly ^ avoids egg-face.
How’s Brandis and Turnbull looking now?
(I mean apart from wearing J Martins egg)
Let some adults deal with this (preferably non racists – without an LNP agenda or previous history)
Or better yet let’s get the UN set up a PROPER enquiry.That should get Bolts head to explode.
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Turnbull now has the opportunity to set up a far more balanced RC, one that is not so inherently compromised.
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Both Turnbull and Brandis should have been able to pick the right people in the first place, legal eagles both of them after all.
Shows poor judgement, yet again; for them it’s not about justice, about doing the right thing, it’s always about politics.
I took one look at Martin and thought this is not going to go well for the abused black youths…
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I had already written a letter to all capital city editors at lunch time today.
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I agree.
We don’t want a repeat like the RC into the CFMEU, where a clearly biased Justice Dyson Heydon would not do the right thing and step down.
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Yes, much as I dislike Turnbull, this is quick action to improve the Royal Commission. I wonder who suggested Martin? Lots of egg.
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I think all indigenous ppl should demand UN support through the whole process, and the UN should shadow the RC.
No idea what J White is like, but Mick Gooda needs to be careful the LNP don’t ensnare him in their political agenda to suffocate indigenous rights.
His role in the RC is big enough, but he has to also deal with countryman and their protocols.And carry the expectations of his existing role, and his ethnicity at all times.
I fail to see how the Libs will (can ever) reform on their serial oppression given how overtly racist the WA libs are.
(Read Hassells cave man claims yesterday)
“It’s particularly important now that we’re facing the war of terror from some forces in the world that we develop our national identity as one people.
“There are some Aborigines who get caught up in these things and they beat the drum and as soon as this ones over you know the next thing will be that we have a treaty.
“If we change the constitution, they’ll want a special constitutional position in the Parliament, and favouritism in terms of their entitlements and their rights and that is wrong.”
Richard born to rule Court,proudly led the scare campaign on Mabo for years.And he was not reluctant to use their indigenous adopted daughter as political ammo.His father laid the foundation of oppression beyond Noonkanbah.Premier Barnett continues the race policies with racist policing,demands to shut down homelands and street sweeping based on aboriginality.
Ken Wyatt may have just found out what the party is really all about.
Hopefully WA & QLD will face the scrutiny in a short time,too.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-09/bill-leak-backs-indigenous-dads-movement/7710308
Yeah nah f*ck right off, Master Leak, you backward walking vigilante racist.
The conversation is about entitled racists using privlilege.
Like you,unnah?.
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It did nit surprise because normal behaviour by prison officers
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/images-of-alleged-mistreatment-cleveland-youth-detention-centre/7758204
in QLD/NT and WA where they interact with indigenous ppl.Especially youth.
The more WA denies the guiltier they look, and are likely to be.The rate of incarceration of indigenous ppl in WA is the gretaest % in Australia.
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Tassie conjures up the perfect alibi?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-20/ashley-centre-detainess-allegedly-threaten-staff/7769558
Could this be the escape clause?
Lets hope there is video footage to substantiate the claims, and the circumstances are proven >independently<..
Asking the police to investigate is 'unwise' to say the least, and it is like examining like..
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Should never surprise Australia is anti indigenous race incubator.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/port-adelaide-fan-who-threw-banana-at-eddie-betts-banned-indefinitely/news-story/b02064e4efec90f046002cb77246f396
Turns out this cave dwelling pustule has been ranting for ever,yet those around her said nothing till the media exposed her.Casual racism?Nope full blooded true blue race hate.We do it best.
If we were serious the woman would be named and shamed.Period.
Same for the idiots who intimidated a church service a few eeks back.If Lesionhorn gets his way this shit will be the norm, and you can add violent retaliations, and vigilante movements as well.Take govt away from politicians and give it to the judiciary (High Cour) It is wrecked .
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(High Court)
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-22/diwali-festival-application-rejected-campbelltown-city-council/7771362
I’m surprised the councillors concerned did not toss bananas at the application when it was discussed.
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