Aborigines in the News! - "racism or genetics?"

Romancing on 'Palm Island'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21173101-29277,00.html

Palm Island officer 'set to be charged'
February 05, 2007

CHARGES will be laid against the police officer at the centre of the Palm Island death in custody within hours, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says.
Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley is expected to face a manslaughter charge after a report by former New South Wales chief justice Sir Laurence Street found there was enough evidence to pursue him over the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004.
"The attorney-general (Kerry Shine) advised me that charges are looking to be laid against Snr Sgt Chris Hurley in the next couple of hours," Mr. Beattie said.
Mr. Beattie said he did not know how the charges would be laid.
Mr. Shine can use his special powers and present an ex-officio indictment in the Supreme Court against Snr Sgt Hurley.
Under the indictment, preliminary hearings, such as a magistrate's committal hearing, would be bypassed.
Mr. Shine has been seeking advice from Crown Solicitor Conrad Lohe on how to proceed with the prosecution.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21173311-29277,00.html

Officer charged over Palm Island death

February 05, 2007

QUEENSLAND police officer Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley has today been charged over a death in custody on Palm Island.
Officer charged over death in custody
Snr Sgt Hurley was charged in the Brisbane Supreme Court with the manslaughter and assault of 36-year-old Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004.
He is due to reappear for mention in Townsville Supreme Court on March 16.
An ex-officio indictment was presented by counsel on behalf of Attorney-General Kerry Shine before Justice Kerry Cullinane.
Snr Sgt Hurley's counsel did not enter a plea.
 
Proud ’Aboriginal’ community

2752221624


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21173120-5006790,00.html

Teens in court over sex assault charges
February 05, 2007


FIVE teenagers drugged, bound and sodomised a 12-year-old boy at a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, a court has been told.
The attack was one of six similar incidents that allegedly occurred between April and August last year at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin.
The five boys, aged between 13 and 17 at the time of the attacks, were among a group of 10 alleged offenders, the oldest of who were 39.
The teenagers are facing a total of 18 charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault and administering a stupefying drug.
Crown Prosecutor Fiona Hardy told a committal hearing at Darwin Magistrates' Court today that police investigations started on May 26, when the victim presented to Darwin hospital with gonorrhea.
About a month later, a medical examination revealed anal fissures and the boy told police he had been raped by the group of 10 at different locations about the town of Maningrida.
"On one occasion the complainant went with (two of the accused) and others to the barge landing.
There he was told “give us your ”�’arse’ or we are going to beat you,"� Miss Hardy told the court.
Then they "pushed him under the water so he felt he was going to drown."
On another occasion one of the teenagers allegedly forced the victim to smoke pot before tying him up with shoelaces and making him watch porn.
Miss Hardy said all five of the accused then took turns sodomising him.
The hearing before magistrate Dick Wallace continues.
The five adult offenders will be dealt with separately and face a committal hearing on February 19.
 
'Palm Island' Officer to face the music

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21173309-601,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21173413-601,00.html


Palm Island officer charged with manslaughter

February 05, 2007

A QUEENSLAND police officer has been charged over the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island.
Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, 37, was today charged in the Brisbane Supreme Court with the manslaughter and assault of Doomadgee, who died in the watch house at Palm Island on November 19, 2004. Evidence was given at the coronial inquest that Doomadgee suffered four broken ribs and a ruptured liver.

Sgt Hurley was granted bail on the charges, and will appear next month when a court hearing date will be set.

Queensland Police Union officials continued addressing members, this time in Nambour north of Brisbane, in their continuing campaign of protest against Sgt Hurley being charged.
A grim-faced Hurley appeared before the court today to hear an indictment of one count each of manslaughter and assault of 36-year-old Doomadgee.
Sgt Hurley was the senior officer on Palm Island at the time of the alleged incident, and arrested Doomadgee and placed him in custody.
Sgt Hurley appeared before Townsville Supreme Court Justice Kerry Cullinane, sitting in Brisbane, and was not required to enter a plea.
Justice Cullinane granted Sgt Hurley bail on his own undertaking and remanded him to reappear in the Townsville Supreme Court for mention on March 16.
Prosecutor Peter Davis estimated the trial would take up to two weeks, and as yet no date has been set for the trial.
The next criminal sittings of the Townsville Supreme Court begin on April 9.
However, Mr. Davis said he expected there to be some legal argument before any trial could take place.
Justice Cullinane queried whether either side would take issue with him sitting on the case, on the basis of any perceived conflict of interest on his part.
Justice Cullinane said he had been the Supreme Court judge in Townsville for many years, and had a lot of police from Palm Island involved in trials he had presided over.
However, he could not remember Sgt Hurley being involved in any of them.
After the brief appearance, Sgt Hurley sat in one of the court's stairwells while he waited for his bail to be processed.
He then left the court building accompanied by his solicitor and refused to speak to waiting media.
 
He was sent home, to do some further se perfoarmances

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21177235-5006790,00.html

'Cycle of pack rape in NT community'
February 06, 2007

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy who was repeatedly raped at a Northern Territory Aboriginal community by a group of 10 males was allowed to return home after being treated for gonorrhea at a Darwin hospital, a court heard yesterday.
The boy was allegedly attacked between April and August last year at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin, on six separate occasions around the community.
Five teenagers accused of inflicting the abuse appeared in the Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday, facing a total of 18 charges including sexual intercourse without consent and deprivation of liberty.
The other five alleged attackers, all adult men, will face court at a later date.
Prosecutor Fiona Hardy told the court the boy, who was just 11 when the abuse occurred, had been anally raped, bound with shoelaces, and forced to smoke cannabis and watch a pornographic video.
The court heard that on one occasion, he was told by one of the teenagers to "give us yourarse or we are going to belt you".
He was then pushed under water and felt like he was going to drown, Ms Hardy said.
Northern Territory police began investigating the alleged abuse in June after the boy was treated for gonorrhea at the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Police interviewed the boy in Darwin, but found him quiet and reluctant to talk.
Despite the lack of evidence, Detective Senior Constable Vicki Koum told the court that she did not want the boy to return to Maningrida.
But he returned to the community later that month anyway, and had not been declared a child at risk by the Territory's Family and Children's Services.
Welfare worker Katrina Hill told the court she did not know who in FACS had given permission for him to return to the community.
But Ms Hill said she had visited the boy in Maningrida in August, when he claimed others in the community had also been abused.
She said the boy named several other boys as victims, including some of the teenagers accused of assaulting him.
"He said to me this had happened to these boys as well," she said.
Later that month, the boy was interviewed by police in Maningrida over three consecutive days. He then returned to Darwin, where he was found to have suffered anal fissures as a result of the alleged abuse.
The names of all the defendants have been suppressed by the court, but all 10 males have been granted bail.
The committal hearing, before Magistrate Dick Wallace, is expected to continue until the end of the week.
 
He was sent home, to do some further sexual perfoarmances

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21177235-5006790,00.html

'Cycle of pack rape in NT community'
February 06, 2007

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy who was repeatedly raped at a Northern Territory Aboriginal community by a group of 10 males was allowed to return home after being treated for gonorrhea at a Darwin hospital, a court heard yesterday.
The boy was allegedly attacked between April and August last year at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin, on six separate occasions around the community.
Five teenagers accused of inflicting the abuse appeared in the Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday, facing a total of 18 charges including sexual intercourse without consent and deprivation of liberty.
The other five alleged attackers, all adult men, will face court at a later date.
Prosecutor Fiona Hardy told the court the boy, who was just 11 when the abuse occurred, had been anally raped, bound with shoelaces, and forced to smoke cannabis and watch a pornographic video.
The court heard that on one occasion, he was told by one of the teenagers to "give us yourarse or we are going to belt you".
He was then pushed under water and felt like he was going to drown, Ms Hardy said.
Northern Territory police began investigating the alleged abuse in June after the boy was treated for gonorrhea at the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Police interviewed the boy in Darwin, but found him quiet and reluctant to talk.
Despite the lack of evidence, Detective Senior Constable Vicki Koum told the court that she did not want the boy to return to Maningrida.
But he returned to the community later that month anyway, and had not been declared a child at risk by the Territory's Family and Children's Services.
Welfare worker Katrina Hill told the court she did not know who in FACS had given permission for him to return to the community.
But Ms Hill said she had visited the boy in Maningrida in August, when he claimed others in the community had also been abused.
She said the boy named several other boys as victims, including some of the teenagers accused of assaulting him.
"He said to me this had happened to these boys as well," she said.
Later that month, the boy was interviewed by police in Maningrida over three consecutive days. He then returned to Darwin, where he was found to have suffered anal fissures as a result of the alleged abuse.
The names of all the defendants have been suppressed by the court, but all 10 males have been granted bail.
The committal hearing, before Magistrate Dick Wallace, is expected to continue until the end of the week.
 
Possible war amongst 'Aboriginal' tribes

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21177230-5006789,00.html
Failure of land title bid 'will start war'

February 06, 2007

THE Federal Court's dismissal of Western Australia's largest native title claim has left the door open for a fresh wave of conflicting smaller claims that experts say could fuel "civil war" between Aboriginal groups and set native title reforms back years.Judge Kevin Lindgren yesterday dismissed the combined Wongatha claim - made by eight claimant parties for more than 160,000sqkm of mining and pastoral land.
He found that the parties, formed for the purpose of claiming land, were "not rooted in traditional laws and customs" and could not prove traditional ownership of the land.
But Justice Lindgren rejected commonwealth and state government applications that sought a blanket denial of native title, saying it was conceivable that individuals or smaller groups could have native title rights over the Wongatha claim area.
He also refused to rule out those individuals or small groups lodging new claims.
The judgment has caused consternation among Aboriginal, government and commercial parties, which have been seeking clarity on the vast expanses of mineral-rich spinifex country, north of Kalgoorlie, ever since the first native title claim was lodged in 1994.
An explosion in conflicting and overlapping Aboriginal claims over the area led in 1999 to the drawing up and lodging of a unified Wongatha native title application, followed by protracted and complex hearings involving 100 court sitting days, 97 volumes of applications and 400 interested parties.
Yesterday's 1000-page judgment, delivered by Justice Lindgren personally in a Kalgoorlie Federal Court sitting, came more than 2 1/2 years after final evidence was taken.
Goldfields Land and Sea Council executive director Brian Wyatt, representing the Wongatha claimants, said they were disappointed because they had worked tirelessly to simplify and merge overlapping claims at the request of the National Native Title Tribunal.
"It's an extraordinary and bewildering decision and you just wonder what the Federal Court is doing with native title," Mr. Wyatt said.
A spokesman for Western Australia's Acting Minister for Native Title Matters, John Kobelke, said it was regrettable that a lengthy native title process had delivered little.
The judge's finding had overturned efforts to streamline claims and avoid conflict between claimant groups, said native title lawyer Marcus Holmes.
"It will be civil war between claimant groups, whereas there was a lot of goodwill between them in this case," warned Mr. Holmes, who acted for the Ngalia Kutjungkatja people in the Wongatha claim. "It's very likely new claims will be lodged, given the approach that the judge has taken."
But in his lengthy judgment, the Federal Court judge offered his own criticism of "an unsatisfactory state of affairs in the native title area", saying it raised false expectations that native title would be gained in all cases.
He added that the process was reliant on the individual facts and histories of each claimant, and penalized Goldfields claimants who could not prove the existence of indigenous laws and customs when the colony was settled in 1829 because explorers did not reach any part of the Wongatha claim area until 1869.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said mining companies had been treading water while waiting for the Wongatha outcome, and felt the court's dismissal offered a degree of certainty.
But mining companies would still negotiate with failed native title parties, said AMEC policy manager Ian Loftus.
 
'Palm Island' update

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21187103-29277,00.html

Top cops attack Palm Island charges
February 07, 2007

HIGH-RANKING police officers across Queensland have added their voice to the chorus of support for the officer charged over the Palm Island death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee.
In a rare public show of strength, the Queensland Police Commissioned Officers' Union, which represents senior police officers, today condemned Premier Peter Beattie's handling of the Mulrunji case.
About 100 officers representing approximately a third of the union's membership met in Brisbane today to discuss perceived political interference in the prosecution of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley.
Snr-Sgt Hurley was charged with manslaughter on Monday after Mr. Beattie commissioned an independent review of the Queensland Director of Public Prosecution's (DPP) decision last year not to prosecute the officer.
The review, by former NSW chief justice Sir Laurence Street, found Snr-Sgt Hurley should face charges.
Officers at today’s meeting passed motions condemning what they said were governmental interference in the case and supporting Snr-Sgt Hurley.
Union president Superintendent Peter Savage said commissioning the review undermined the independence of the DPP.
"It jeopardizes some long-standing judicial conventions that have been in place for many years," Mr. Savage said.
"Our focus is on correcting this dangerous precedent that has unfolded ... We will be pursuing some guarantees down the track to ensure the independence of the DPP is assured."
However, state Attorney-General Kerry Shine today told the Queensland Parliament the Government had not infringed the DPP's independence nor breached the separation of powers between government and the judiciary.
"Indeed, it is an exercise of the separation of powers for a matter to be commenced in the courts and then left for the judgment of the court free of any interference," Mr. Shine said.
Meanwhile, about 200 Queensland Police Union (QPU) members rallied in Mackay today.
A QPU spokesman said members voiced their support for Mr. Beattie's promise to install cameras in watch-houses in remote Aboriginal communities to prevent a repeat of the Mulrunji case.
However, he said officers were still worried about staffing levels in isolated communities, but did not follow their Sunshine Coast colleagues' lead in passing a no-confidence motion in Mr. Beattie.
Another meeting will be held at Ipswich, west of Brisbane tomorrow.
 
Re: 'ABO' - gave up before judgment day

UPDATE

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21187034-5006786,00.html


Nats leader thrown out of Parliament

[Nats = National Party]

February 07, 2007

QUEENSLAND'S Opposition Leader was thrown out of the chamber and the Coalition was shut down from asking questions about the Palm Island affair during a feisty sitting of state Parliament today.
On the second sitting day of the year, Speaker Mike Reynolds ejected Nationals leader Jeff Seeney during Question Time after he tried to make a point of order against Premier Peter Beattie.
Mr. Beattie had been answering a question relating to his views on a call for all food and drink products made with recycled water to be labeled as such.
Mr. Seeney is the first person to be thrown out of the state Parliament this year.
"I think it's very disappointing," Mr. Seeney said.
"In terms of the normal course of events that I've seen in Parliament over a long period of time, I don't think anything I did this morning was out of the ordinary."Mr. Seeney was allowed to return to the chamber for votes.
The Nationals leader was due to debate four dissent motions moved yesterday about the Speaker's rulings.
The motions were in regard to a ban on questions about whether the Government was responsible for leaking a sensitive document which recommended a police officer be charged over the Palm Island death in custody case.
On Monday, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was charged with manslaughter over the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee in the island's watch-house in November 2004. The charges were laid the same day the report was leaked to the media.
Mr. Seeney was also to debate his motion of no confidence in state Attorney-General Kerry Shine over the "alleged politicization" of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr. Beattie refused to answer any questions surrounding the leak, saying: "There is a matter before the courts and it is absolutely imperative that everyone in this parliament respect the law".
He also accused Mr. Seeney of trying to deliberately disrupt Parliament before being thrown out.
Mr. Seeney said the Government's silence was unacceptable.
"It's disappointing for the people of Queensland that the Parliament has not be able to get answers to the questions that I believe they deserve," he said.
 
Re: Proud ’Aboriginal’ community

Follow up

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21190110-5006790,00.html

Boy's teenage rapists were abuse victims, court told

February 08, 2007

FIVE teenagers accused of raping a 12-year-old boy during a horrific series of attacks in a remote Top End Aboriginal community were considered by police to be possible victims of abuse themselves.

Detective Sergeant Shane Johnson told Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday he had interviewed the alleged victim in August last year at Maningrida, about 500km east of Darwin.

The boy has accused five teenagers - as well as five men - of sexually abusing him on six occasions around the community, tying him up with shoelaces and forcing him to smoke cannabis.

The youngest defendant is 13, while the eldest is 39. The identities of all the alleged attackers have been suppressed.

Sergeant Johnson said the boy had suggested in the interview his five teenage attackers had also been victims.

"I recall him coming straight out with it and saying it had happened, to use his own words, to so and so, and so and so, and so and so," Sergeant Johnson said. The teenagers had not made any disclosures in police interviews. The interview with the boy was played to a closed court, but he was later described as sometimes fidgety and nervous. The court heard he also cried after one series of questions.

Under cross-examination, Sergeant Johnson said he had a "good feeling about the entirety of the offences" described by the boy. He said his questioning of the boy had been appropriate despite some of the "leading suggestions" that were put to him. He said the boy had a good grasp of where he had felt pain and what had caused it.

Magistrate Dick Wallace closed the court again late yesterday after a relative of the victim gave evidence, noting the "extreme discomfort" of the witness, who was apparently scared of the defendants sitting in the courtroom.
The committal hearing is expected to run until at least tomorrow.



http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21192794-5006790,00.html

Court rejects blackout on abuse case

February 08, 2007

A HIGH-PROFILE child sex abuse case will continue to be heard in public after an NT magistrate rejected an application for a media blackout because of the effect it was having on a remote Aboriginal community.Five teenagers from Maningrida, about 500km east of Darwin, are accused of gang raping a 12-year-old boy over five months from April last year.

The victim says he was sexually assaulted 35 times, bound with shoelaces, drugged, forced to watch porn and raped with a stick by a gang of ten males, the oldest of whom was 39.

The five teenagers, aged between 13 and 17 and who cannot be named, face a total of 18 charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault and administering a stupefying drug.

The father of one of the teenagers today told a committal hearing in Darwin that media coverage of the court case was having a devastating impact on the town of Maningrida.

"It is starting to create problems in the community," said the man, who described himself as a respected elder.

"People back home are starting to come and say to me and the family and also the elders this is not an appropriate thing to do...

"We don't think like white fellas and white fellas don't think like us, we have our own culture, our own spirituality and we believe in our own moral values."
But crown prosecutor Fiona Hardy said it was not a good enough reason to ban the media from covering the case.

"Surely it is a matter in the public interest to be published and that must override any feelings of shame in the Maningrida community," she said.

"Ultimately the purpose of restricting publication is to protect the court's functions, not protect the community of Maningrida."

After retiring to consider the application over lunch, Magistrate Dick Wallace said he appreciated the father's fears that media coverage would hamper traditional Aboriginal retribution and the prospect of reconciliation between the families of the children involved.

But he rejected the application, saying it was in the public interest to cover the court case particularly at a time when child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities was already on the political agenda.

"The media should be free to publish in accordance with proceedings," he said.

The juveniles are facing a total of 18 charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault and administering a stupefying drug.

The five adult offenders will be dealt with separately and face a committal hearing on February 19.

:tongue: It is very clerar now that the tads are 'ABO'S :tongue: :eek:
 
Re: Proud ’Aboriginal’ community

UPDATE:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21195149-17001,00.html

Aboriginal child rape claims 'shame Territory'

February 09, 2007 03:00am

THE entire Northern Territory should be ashamed over allegations a 12-year-old boy was repeatedly raped by five teenagers and five adults at a remote Aboriginal community, a Darwin magistrate said yesterday.
Refusing an application for a media blackout on the disturbing case, magistrate Dick Wallace said the nation was at last starting to examine the "less palatable sides" of indigenous communities in the bush.
Five teenagers are facing Darwin Magistrates Court accused of sexually abusing the boy at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin, over five months last year. The five adult men will appear in court later this month.
"I think the people of Maningrida should be ashamed about the matter, assuming there's something in it," Mr. Wallace said. "I think we have heard enough evidence to assume there's something in it.
"Equally, everyone in the Northern Territory should be ashamed at such things."
The teenagers have been accused of raping the boy on six separate occasions around Maningrida, as well as forcing him to smoke cannabis and watch a pornographic movie.
The court has also heard that the boy, who was 11 when the alleged attacks began, had allegedly been tied up with shoelaces and raped with a stick. The identities of the boy's alleged attackers have been suppressed.
The father of one of the defendants, described as a respected Aboriginal leader, told the court yesterday that the continuing media coverage of the case was bringing shame on the community.
In an attempt to persuade the magistrate to prohibit reporting of the committal hearing, the man said the publicity would make it harder to resolve tensions at Maningrida and deal with the matter according to traditional law.
But Mr. Wallace rejected the application, saying it was in the public interest that the case be conducted in open court when possible.
He said the media should be free to report the proceedings, especially in the wake of last year's debate about violence and abuse in Aboriginal communities prompted by Alice Springs prosecutor Nanette Rogers.
However, Mr. Wallace agreed that the hearing and accompanying publicity made reconciliation more difficult between families at Maningrida.
 
One of the accused defendant’s fathers is respected ’Aboriginal’ leader’

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21195149-5006790,00.html

Aboriginal child rape claims 'shame Territory'

February 09, 2007

THE entire Northern Territory should be ashamed over allegations a 12-year-old boy was repeatedly raped by five teenagers and five adults at a remote Aboriginal community, a Darwin magistrate said yesterday.

Refusing an application for a media blackout on the disturbing case, magistrate Dick Wallace said the nation was at last starting to examine the "less palatable sides" of indigenous communities in the bush.
Five teenagers are facing Darwin Magistrates Court accused of sexually abusing the boy at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin, over five months last year. The five adult men will appear in court later this month.

"I think the people of Maningrida should be ashamed about the matter, assuming there's something in it," Mr. Wallace said. "I think we have heard enough evidence to assume there's something in it.

"Equally, everyone in the Northern Territory should be ashamed at such things."
The teenagers have been accused of raping the boy on six separate occasions around Maningrida, as well as forcing him to smoke cannabis and watch a pornographic movie.

The court has also heard that the boy, who was 11 when the alleged attacks began, had allegedly been tied up with shoelaces and raped with a stick. The identities of the boy's alleged attackers have been suppressed.
The father of one of the defendants, described as a respected Aboriginal leader, told the court yesterday that the continuing media coverage of the case was bringing shame on the community.

In an attempt to persuade the magistrate to prohibit reporting of the committal hearing, the man said the publicity would make it harder to resolve tensions at Maningrida and deal with the matter according to traditional law.


But Mr. Wallace rejected the application, saying it was in the public interest that the case be conducted in open court when possible.

He said the media should be free to report the proceedings, especially in the wake of last year's debate about violence and abuse in Aboriginal
communities prompted by Alice Springs prosecutor Nanette Rogers.

However, Mr. Wallace agreed that the hearing and accompanying publicity made reconciliation more difficult between families at Maningrida.
 
Re: 'ABO' - gave up before judgment day

UPDATE:


Police band together for charged officer

February 09, 2007 12:00

ALL Queensland police officers may soon be wearing blue wrist bands in a show of support for a colleague charged over the death in custody of a Palm Island man.
Gold Coast officers already are wearing the bands stamped with the number "6747" - the official police registration number of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley.
The officer was this week charged with manslaughter over Mulrunji Doomadgee's death in the island's watch house in 2004.
Queensland Police Union vice president Denis Fitzpatrick said the bands would not only help raise funds for Snr Sgt Hurley's legal costs, but show a "silent protest" against his treatment.
"It's not a significant amount of money we're trying to raise. It's more an issue with regards of support and solidarity of our member," Mr. Fitzpatrick said today.
"As I understand it, everyone on the Gold Coast is now wearing them and I foresee every officer in the state of Queensland wearing one in the near future."
The bands, which retail for $5, are currently available only at Gold Coast police stations. They will be distributed to police stations across Queensland in the coming days.
"Yesterday we rolled out 4,000. They are now sold out and we're arranging the manufacture of a further 5,000 in the very near future," Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
"We are now receiving overwhelming public demand from members of the community wanting to purchase the wristband as well."
Meanwhile, 143 police officers have met in Rockhampton in central Queensland in one of a series of statewide meetings in support for Snr Sgt Hurley.
"That meeting has clearly called for significant upgrades in police numbers in the local Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, (west of Rockhampton)," Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
"We still do not have the commitment for significant upgrades in terms of police numbers in remote Aboriginal communities."
Mr. Fitzpatrick said there were no plans for further meetings.
"What we'll do now is consolidate the thoughts and sentiments of the member’s right around the state and we'll plan a course of action in the very near future," he said.
The union is considering staging an unprecedented police march on parliament house in Brisbane.
Mr. Fitzpatrick said Snr Sgt Hurley had been "overwhelmed" by support from colleagues and the community.
 
Remote ’Aboriginal’ community ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ disgrace on ’Queens’ land - raped 6-yr-old girl

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21222243-5006790,00.html

Teen gets suspended sentence for molesting girl, six

February 14, 2007

A TEENAGER has been given a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a six-year-old relative at a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory.
The boy, known only as W and described in court as an extremely immature child, assaulted the girl while staying with her grandmother at Lajamanu, 550km west of Katherine, in November 2004.
The Northern Territory Supreme Court heard that the boy - who was 14 at the time - jumped on to the girl's mattress after her grandmother had left for work. He then removed her shorts and inserted his finger into the girl's anus, causing a 1cm tear in the process.
Chief Justice Brian Martin sentenced him to four years' jail, suspended after the boy spent just five days in jail last week.
Justice Martin said he would have imposed a five-year jail sentence if the boy had not pleaded guilty to his "exploratory sexual behavior".
"Your very young age, immaturity, and lack of normal appreciation of why your conduct was so wrong places your offending in a different category from the typical type of offending which comes before this court," he said.
He ordered that the boy perform 300 hours of community service.
The court heard that the boy was raised by his grandmother because his mother was a chronic alcoholic and he had never met his father.
Welfare workers intervened when he was nine.
In August 2005, Justice Martin sentenced a 55-year-old Aboriginal elder to one month behind bars for having sex with his teenage promised wife. That was increased on appeal to two years and five months, suspended after 18 months.

:mad:

Sentences on the accused are very lenient and out of the control - Magistrates need to learn the 'Law of the Land'
'Aboriginals' are still in 'Stone Age' and so are the 'Magistrates'
 
Re: Remote ’Aboriginal’ community ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ disgrace on ’Queens’ land - raped 6-yr-old girl

Sentences on the accused are very lenient and out of the control - Magistrates need to learn the 'Law of the Land'
Click to expand...

Sentences imposed on Aboriginals are generally quite lenient especially if it involves in-house activity - Abo on Abo. Mostly it doesn't worry me, though it sometimes manages to shock.
 
Abo pedo uses lollipop

Reminds me of the joke - what does an Abo pedophile say to a child? Hey kid, give me your lollipop!

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/02/16/2371_news.html

School sex attack
Damon Guppy

16Feb07


A NINE-year-old boy was attacked in a Cairns school playground by a perverted sex beast who tricked him with a lollipop.

Police were last night still hunting the man who chased the boy across a busy road after sexually assaulting him in the Balaclava State School grounds.

The boy was waiting alone on a schoolyard seat about 2.45pm when the man gave him a lollipop, pulled him to his feet and shoved his hand down the boy’s pants.

"The boy was waiting for his cousin to come and walk him home," Det Sgt Syd Churchill said.

"By the time this fellow approached him there were no other students around.

"He’s obviously gone there with some intent."

The boy struggled free and ran but his attacker chased him across McCoombe St to Dalton St.

When the victim scrambled over a 2m fence and ran into a house the man turned and fled.

Detectives who interviewed the boy said he managed to provide a detailed description.

"He seems to be relatively well-taught by his mother about stranger danger and what to do," Det Sgt Churchill said.

The boy, who received bruising from the "brazen" attack and required medical treatment, was last night "coping" after his ordeal.

Parents at the school are furious they were not told about the attack.

"It’s very scary," one woman said last night. "It’s disturbing for the school and it’s disturbing for all the people in the area and the children."

The school’s principal was unavailable for comment yesterday.

An Education Queensland spokesman refused to comment on the incident but said teachers regularly advised students about personal safety.

"Safety is the highest priority for all schools," he said. [Parents at the school are furious they were not told about the attack.]

The attacker was of Aboriginal appearance, aged in his 20s, about 180cm tall with a very dark complexion, thin build and short, black, curly hair.
 
Black welfare changes for 'Aboriginals'

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21238272-662,00.html

Black welfare changes

Gerard McManus

February 17, 2007 12:00am

UNEMPLOYED Aborigines will be pressured to find real jobs, under a Federal Government plan to be unveiled today.
And a long-term community jobs scheme that gave the unemployed long-term welfare for cleaning up streetscapes and putting out rubbish is to be abolished.
The plan will axe the old Community Development Employment Projects scheme across Australia, affecting a host of Aboriginal communities throughout Victoria.
Employment Minister Joe Hockey is to declare the end of the CDEP scheme, which paid Aboriginal people welfare money for doing mostly menial jobs that were said to benefit their communities.
Recent studies have shown that, while the scheme was successful in some places, many recipients of the money disregarded the work-for-welfare guidelines.
"While CDEP has played an important role in many communities, it has resulted in some people living off welfare for years," Mr Hockey said.

Quote;

"You must be kidding!" They will never join the workforce unless they are given 'Booze' in their pocket. :)
 
Labor welcomes indigenous welfare changes - 'Waste of time' and mopney

2876254138

http://www.news.com.au/sundayheraldsun/story/0,21985,21245444-5005961,00.html

Labor welcomes indigenous welfare changes

By Peter Veness

February 18, 2007 01:51pm

LABOR has cautiously backed government plans to curtail the indigenous welfare program known as Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP).
Employment Minister Joe Hockey announced yesterday that CDEP would stop from July 1 in all centers where unemployment was below seven per cent.
Opposition indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jenny Macklin has cautiously supported the proposal.
"Federal Labor supports measures to help indigenous Australians into employment, but would be concerned if the government's changes to CDEP reduced opportunities," Ms Macklin said.
CDEP is a government-funded program offering jobs to indigenous Australians, but Mr Hockey says it creates an unreal economy.
"Our only success measure should be if we get someone into a real job, not a position funded by welfare," he said yesterday.
The program will be phased out in all capital cities and many regional centers, and replaced by an employment brokerage service, Structured Training and Employment Projects (STEP).
"Presently, 64 per cent of STEP participants are placed into real jobs and/or education and training," Mr Hockey said.
Labor said it would be watching the transition between CDEP and STEP closely.
"Support such as pre-employment training programs, development of real skills, mentoring throughout the transition to work, and wage subsidies for employers have all been shown to be necessary parts of effective employment transition programs," Ms Macklin said.
"We will look at the detail of the government's proposals to make sure that these sorts of measures are adequately provided."

:rollpin:

Quote;

Now the 'ALP' is trying to think straight, because of the election coming up very soon. And how will they give work to 'Aboriginals' when they don't have enough jobs' for 'Whites.' Our 'Manufacturing' sector is clothing down day by day, year after year, and our skilled force is also moving off shore. Our country is in 'chaos' since 'Liberals' are running this country!' It wouldn't do any good by saying that 'Aboriginals' will be taken care around the cities to get the job! What about the 'Aboriginals' in remote Australia, what will ”�’ALP’ or 'Liberals' do for them. Not long ago, it was published that 'Aboriginals' have more support from the government than 'White's.' 'Abo's are on the 'dole and 'booze' most of their lives. It is time to shake them up, and get them to participate building this country the same as the 'Europeans' did when they start to come into this country. Who build the 'Snowy River Hydro'? Who was cutting by hands 'Sugar Canes' in Queensland? Remember them when they arrived here back in 1850th? They are 'Heroes!' They start to put together profile of 'Australia' convicts or not! British Empire kick them out and send them here, but most of them they build their lives after many years. And this is what we call Australia now!
 
'Aboriginal' Mayor Pootchemunka on brink of fleeing town - 'Bye Mayor'

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/02/19/2383_news.html

Mayor on brink of fleeing town

Roger Dickson and Caitriona Murtagh

19Feb07

AURUKUN Mayor Neville Pootchemunka says he may have to flee his own community because of drunken violence. :cheers2:
Cr Pootchemunka said he was threatened by a drunken relative with an iron bar on Friday night that grog bans were being ignored and police were failing to act.
The incident follows a riot last month in Aurukun where hundreds of people angry at allegations of police brutality raided the tavern and laid siege to the station.
On Friday night, the man allegedly used an iron bar to bash a woman and chased another woman before threatening Cr Pootchemunka.
Police said a woman was treated at the community clinic for a possible fractured rib and soft-tissue damage.
A terrified Cr Pootchemunka said he had considered fleeing the community for some weeks rather than face further alcohol-induced rages.
"My family, my wife and I, we’re worried," he said.
"It’s terrifying, someone standing in front of you and threatening you with a star picket."
Cr Pootchemunka claims grog bans are being ignored, fuelling violence in the beleaguered community, and police are failing to act. He blamed the alleged attack on grog and failure to enforce bans at the community’s tavern.
"I think this is all related to the alcohol being brought into the community. The amount they’re drinking is too much – it’s probably 18 cans being given to patrons down at the tavern."
Aurukun policeman Sgt Peter Cochrane said he had no qualms about the state of the tavern or its patrons on Friday night.
"We’re pretty hot on liquor breaches. We go down there and we have inspections every night," he said.
"As to the conduct of the hotel, we certainly police the licence and I’ve got no concerns about the way it was run tonight (Friday)."
Sgt Glen Smith said the alleged attack occurred after the tavern had closed and that the patrons were generally well behaved.
 
Re: Mayor Pootchemunka on brink of fleeing town - 'Bye Mayor'

Neville Pootchemunka
NevillePootchemunka.jpg

Neville is a Winchnum man and his language group is Wik Munkgan. Neville is the current Mayor of the Aurukun Shire Council, Aurukun, which is a small Aboriginal community on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. Neville has lived in Aurukun for most of his life.

He attended primary school in Aurukun and completed his secondary education at boarding school in Herberton, after which he returned home.

Neville is a board member of the Western Cape Regional Consultant Group and is involved in a number of youth projects in Aurukun and is the Aurukun Sport and Recreation Officer. He is a member of the Southern trust committee (WACCA).
Click to expand...
 
Gang rape hearing adjourned - 'ABO'S' facing justice

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21249188-17001,00.html

Gang rape hearing adjourned

February 19, 2007

THE start of a committal hearing for five men accused of gang raping a boy over five months at a remote Aboriginal community has been adjourned at Darwin Magistrates Court until tomorrow.
The 12-year-old victim has said he was sexually assaulted 36 times, bound with shoelaces, drugged, forced to watch porn and raped with a stick by a gang of five teenagers and five adults, the oldest of whom was 39, the youngest was 13.

The attacks allegedly happened on six occasions from April last year at Maningrida, about 500km east of Darwin.

Five teenagers, aged between 13 and 17, face a total of 18 charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault and administering a stupefying drug.

A separate committal hearing for them began two weeks ago and will resume on March 28.

During earlier court proceedings, Magistrate Dick Wallace rejected an application for a media blackout, saying it was in the public interest for the case to be covered, particularly at a time when child sex abuse in Aboriginal communities was already on the political agenda.

However, Mr Wallace said he appreciated fears that media coverage would hamper traditional Aboriginal retribution and the prospect of reconciliation between the families of people involved.


ohttp://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21257571-17001,00.html

Raped with stick, court told

By Tara Ravens

February 20, 2007 04:05pm

A STICK was used to sodomise a 12-year-old boy in a string of gang rapes at a remote Aboriginal community, a court was told today.
The victim says he was sexually assaulted more than 20 times at Maningrida, about 500km east of Darwin, by a group of five teenagers and four adult men, the oldest of whom was 39.

The men have been charged with a total of 10 offences, including sexual intercourse with a minor without consent and aggravated assault.

Charges against a fifth adult were dropped yesterday.

At a committal hearing in Darwin Magistrates Court today, crown prosecutor Fiona Hardy said the victim was bound with shoelaces, drugged and forced to watch pornography during five attacks that began in April last year.

On one occasion, she said a man told the victim to perform oral sex on another adult while he sodomised him.

At a later date, the victim was allegedly taken to a gravel pit near the local airport where he was threatened with a shanghai, Ms Hardy said.

"(A man) raped him and then penetrated his anus with a stick."

But Bill Doogue, a lawyer for one of the accused, said the alleged victim had changed his story in an interview with police yesterday.

Another defence lawyer, Gerard Bryant, asked for specifics relating to the allegations against his client because the brief did not contain "particulars about what he had done".

Five teenagers, aged between 13 and 17, face a total of 18 charges, including sexual intercourse without consent, deprivation of liberty, aggravated assault and administering a stupefying drug.

They have been charged over a sixth alleged incident that did not involve the adults.

A separate committal hearing for the juveniles began two weeks ago and will resume on March 28.

Investigations into the matter started soon after the victim was presented to Darwin Hospital in May last year with gonorrhoea.

He was later found to have anal fissures.

The hearing before Magistrate David Loadman continues.
 
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