I lived in the 'Shire' till I was 17 years old then moved to Western Australia when the smack dealing in Cronulla became rife, when the Rebels set up camp, when the massage parlours turned to brothels and when I'd had my face punched in more than twice by young men from suburbs far away.

In fact I've had broken fingers, deep lacerations to the hand, fractured skull, broken arms and all other sorts of nasties as a result of 'defending' the shire. I've grown up since I was a toddler beleiving it was 'my shire' and 'our place'and defend it at all cost.

Twenty years later I have moved back into the 'Shire' only to find it's ten times worse...... that is without comparing it to the town seiges in Roebourne or the schizo solvent-fuelled bashings in Meekatharra or Halls Creek or maybe even the explosive state of Mount Newman on any given night. The 'Shire' is a convicts pissing-post compared to what goes down in some of the regional and remote regions of our sunburnt country.

There is no idyllic peaceful Cronulla and as far back as I can remember there never has been. Remember the punks and the head-bangers 'smashing' every night of the week up and down the Cronulla line? Remember the stolen car chasing, the paddy-wagon bashings and the 'Sutho' disco fights or the brawls at Northies with Rose Tattoo egging everyone on?

The fact is, we live in a country that is commiting genocide everyday of the week. Check out who gets jailed and for what. Our Indigenous roots are eroded. Without the Indigenous elders of Australia meeting, greeting and joining with the Indigenous elders of all other nations who have come here to call this place home our country will have civil wars, divides, killings, bashings and so on - every increasingly.

BBQ's and beers are not the answer. Nor are bongs and bigotry.

Smashing a lifesaver irrespective of their smartass-lip aint the answer either.

Kay, I am a Townsville boy born and bred, and have no racial predudice, I look at all people as people, good, bad or ugly, they have their own story to tell, and tell it they must, I admire you for your convictions. I have worked with ignorant, aggogant whites, and beautifull considerate Torres Straight Islanders, and have learnt from the experience that all races have good and bad, as an example take Bradley Murdock, convicted today of mudrering Peter Falconio in 2001, his is as white as white can be, but still a bad bas#$%d. People like to catergorise others, by race, socio-enconomic background etc, however the absolute truth is that an individual is an individual, what ever race socio-economic background, or any other label which is tried. As for you, I couldn't care less what background you come from, all I am interested in is your philosophies, certainly not what colour your skin is.

G'day SHONGA

Thanks Shaun - love that name.

I loved Townsville with a passion. Sadly my partner and I did not love each other enough. Well, I guess not sadly in retrospect. I now have a wonderful ten pound pommie husband - for the last ten years!!

I loved having Erika Kyle in my home - and others who were wonderful to me. Tellya what - they can play chess better than you and I can!

Cheers
Kay

About this fighting going on in Sydney... people bashing the life out of one another and draping the national flag over their shoulders and chanting 'Aussie Aussie Aussie', WHILE wearing American baseball caps! Are these people so stupid that they can't see the irony in that? What a great aliance we have with the yanks!

Methinks young Duncan lives in small state as distant from racial sensitivity as you can get. Maybe something to do with his constituent's ancestors destroying the race first living in Tasmania.

He lives in the closeted world of ALP Federal politics that has nothing to contribute to this issue - except to chant.

"When we waltz into Canberra Big Kim can do it better".

Attacks on the legitimate state of law and order always make me especially “moderate”.

ASSUMING POLICE CAN HANDLE IT

I agree that the large number of police shipped in from all over NSW are unsustainable and largely a political embarrassment reaction.

The Lebanese gangs are obviously lying low until the police numbers can again be largely ignored.

I think the only way for this issue to be handled month by month, year in year out, is to employ many more police in trouble spots, permanently.

This will take an increase in national, state and local taxes but in a normal state of law (without states of emergency and other political event making).

There's no substitute for a legally knowledgable, fit, state run police force.

IMMIGRATION COSTS

In terms of revenue raising (for this) - increased entry fees (including family reunion "scams") for all but tourist visas should be boosted. If we only get those who can raise the non-refundable fees (Hong Kong Chinese, rich Americans, hard working kiwis etc) this may put many review lawyers out of work but it’s a price we must shoulder.

Johnny Howard has been very quiet about the discomfiture of the NSW State LABOR Government over the immediate mess. I'd expect the Federal Government will rightly use this as an opportunity to tighten immigration measures.

THE ARMY?

I think the Lebanese gangs should be rightly seen as the problem, as a criminal group (not racism). If the state police (or state politicians) lack the guts, states of emergency can be declared and the Army can deal with the gangs before they get too smug.

Kay/Shonga,

I went to Town High (actually expelled for fighting;-), back in its bad ol' days).

My family is friends with the Prior's from palm (consequently we don't get on the Kyles).

Long time back I was told a story by Flo Prior;

We had been south to conduct some archeological surveys, and on the way back we stopped to see the hollow rock near the AIMS turnoff (right next to the road - it has a painting in the hollow).

Anyway, somebody saw us, and remarked to Flo (back in town) 'who were the two miglu's I saw you with at yada yada etc.? She thought for a minute and said 'they aren't miglu's, thats Aaron and Mick'. Not bad for a lady that had a dog that hated white people EH (Now you know I am from NQ, eh).

Also had one of the elders come down to a camp we had at a site we tried to claim (people had been there for 1 week prior to his arrival), and upon getting out of the car - he looked at all the tents, tarps, fires, stuff everywhere (we were busy)and stated that 'It looked like a black's camp'. (RIP Gindi-gindi).