John,

I don't think you article was as balanced as it could have been.

By ascribing the entire blame for the plight of the long grass people on white society, you're saying Aboriginals share none of the blame. Perhaps you'd like us to see them as 'noble savages' once again?

You say Aboriginals aren't provided with adequate shelter in Darwin or are escaping overcrowded shelter at home. This is true, but speak to any community Housing Officer and you'll find houses last around 10 years. There is a housing crisis because houses are constantly destroyed.

Speak to any Essential Services Officer in a community and you'll find things are broken again and again and again. But there are never any consequences. People like you just ask why we aren't spending more money.

You canvass the reasons why many Aboriginals end up in the long grass well, but gloss over the fact that alcohol abuse is the core of the problem.

The fact is, if you'd spent years building up a business only to watch drunken itinerants’ shouting and fighting scare your customers away, then you'd expect the police to move them on to. Otherwise you and your family would potentially be joining them.

While I agree with many of your suggestions, I feel you need to start from the premiss that governments have made a genuine effort to solve the problem, but while government policies can help, at the end of the day it's individuals and communities that need to take responsibility for their actions.

Finally, perhaps we don’t need to educate non-indigenous Territorians as much as ‘academics’ and ‘social activists’ that come to the Territory every 20 years or so, parachute into a community for a day or two for their ‘Aboriginal experience’, buy a painting, and then return home to tell us about how we need to be ‘educated’.

It probably helps that I've kept media eyes on John Tomlinson's defence of human rights over the years. He has been consistent and courageous in his condemnation of racism. Drewd may be a longterm resident of the high rise in Darwin but I rather doubt he even listens to opinions differing from his rather myoptic one.

As John Tomlinson stated, there are many reasons people (of all shades) live in the long grass. Alcohol is one reason. I rarely go into Darwin at night - preferring my much quieter rural community - but I've been more disturbed at the antics of 'club-goers' of predominantly non-indigenous types - than I have of indigenous long-grassers - when venturing into town after midnight.

Talk about disgusting! Young effluent-looking (thanks Kim and Kath) 'swingers' urinating and vomiting against walls and on their obnoxious friends and innocent passers-by, fighting with police and bouncers, bashing up taxi-drivers, refusing to acknowledge that they're doing anything wrong - 'just having fun'. Drinking 'alfresco' under the stars and abusing anyone who looks different.

Of course, I'm not inferring that Drewd fits this picture, I'm simply astounded that s/he stereotypes and further victimises people who often don't have the resources to defend themselves. Rather a military stance, isn't it? And yes, that's another sore point not alluded to by Drewd - I find the onslaught of defence transmigrants bringing their violent fear and loathing to a once tolerant town - far, far more upsetting than the long-grassers.

John Tomlinson has kept in touch with long-term (more than thirty years) residents of Darwin. He voices concerns that many non-academic, mildly-activist ordinary people have. It's called having a conscience and doing something about it. Missing in 'laissez-faire' politics today.

Personally I believe that the territory needs to introduce the circle courts from NSW. This would empower the elders of the various communities, and allow them to suggest the punishment that they believe that various offences deserve. Perhaps this would also allow them to prevent a lot of the violence and property crime so predominant in Darwin (& other centres) today.

For the information of others, circle courts are a viable alternative to teh mainstream justice system, and the sentences are normally harsher than those imposed by magistrates / judges in courts. It also places offenders in the position that their own community can signal their approbation of their actions.

follow these links for details;

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/ajac.nsf/pages/circle3

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2005/s1478266.htm

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi277t.html

perhaps this may remove some of the itinerants, and provide them with the capacity to reintegrate into their communities. NB I also suggest that maybe the NT could examine community based custodial / non-custodial corrections.

The Darwin 'establishment' has consistently avoided facing the problems of poor itinerents.
There has always been a denial that Aboriginal itinerants have need of a safe and secure place to camp with ablution and toilet facilities.
Because areas near toilet blocks became camping areas, City Council's response has been to either demolish the toilet blocks or close them at night.It's no surprise that people urinate and defecate elsewhere.
Over the 50 years I have lived in Darwin,camping sites close to the City have been declared "NO CAMPING" areas.
I camped on Mindil Beach for three weeks when I first arrived in 1956
It took me that time to find work and be able to pay for accommodation.
The One-Mile Dam area tucked away between Stuart Park and the CBD has long term Aboriginal Residents who are not Larrakias. With the expanse of Darwin it is now high value real estate.The Oil company tank farms of Shell, Mobil and BP are being demolished and relocated at East Arm Port, making way for high density residential development.
Pressure is being exerted on the residents to vacate the area because
an aboriginal ghetto in the midst of such development is not desirable.
This is the same policy that was employed in Victoria Street in Sydney and looks set to be implemented in Redfern too.
In both instances, the people affected are working class poor.
Darwin's 'long grass people' are unemployed poor, harrassed by Council,who suffer in silence and are only visible when they are being 'antisocial'.
continued next post.............

.........Continued from earlier post

The Northern Territory Government is attempting to deal with the issue by enlisting the aid of the Larrakia Organisation to operate night patrols working in collaboration with the Police. Their main function will be to collect drunks and take them to an overnight shelter.
There is an irony in the fact that the Larrakia Organisation was established by the work of Bill Day who agitated for the Woodward Commission to consider the plight of the Darwin Larrakias who were becoming Squatters in their own land.
The Larrakias are now being saddled with the 'problem' of itinerent Aborigines in Darwin with the(unstated but covert) intention of coersing them to return to their own country.
It's not surprising police and Government agencies would not talk to John Tomlinson. He has been their social conscience for many years and they don't want to listen to alternative solutions they consider too radical that don't fit their vision of a city that is not too proud to exploit Aboriginal Culture for tourist promotion but reject the stark reality of the dispossessed and degraded Jetsam.
Thanks John

diri,

You have some misconceptions about me.

"Drewd may be a long-term resident of the high rise in Darwin "

I've actually been living in a remote Aboriginal Community for a number of years now.

You then go on to insinuate I'm some sort of alcoholic, an effluent-looking swinger urinating, fighting and vomiting - even while protesting you don't.

The fact is I live in a dry community and drink moderately when in town.

"that's another sore point not alluded to by Drewd - I find the onslaught of defence transmigrants bringing their violent fear and loathing to a once tolerant town "

You basically accuse all 40,000 or so ADF personnel of being violent, hateful, redneck racists. But you accuse me of stereotyping!

I can't claim to know exactly what you think but I'll take a guess and you can let me know if I'm right or not.

Everything Black = GOOD
Everything White = BAD
Anyone who questions = MYOPIC
Anyone who criticises = HATEFILLED RACIST

The problem is ‘tolerance’ has left indigenous Australians as the most disadvantaged group of people in the country. And blaming everything on white people isn’t going to help them.