o sung wu ,thanks for your knowledge .
However i believe making the "RIGHT CHOICES" on average, is so much easier when you have an Anglo /white educated background . Sooo.. much easier . kartiya .

Hi there Kartiya...
In principle, I'd probably agree with you with respect to having a white anglo-saxon upbringing/background. It would appear prima facie, that some of these so called marginalised groups legitimately don't fully understand or appreciate some of the more subtle nuances of proper standards of behaviour or conduct, that we apparently take for granted. I would assert however, that adults in all cultures, and the many societies contained therein, know the basic difference between right and wrong. I know very little of the events of Palm Island (only what I've seen and heard in the media). I understand that there was conduct of a kind that could only be described as lawless. Allegedly perpetrated by both sides. I don't know. But, I do sincerely believe that we ALL know when we're breaking the law. Especially in circumstances that apparently prevailed at Palm Island. We've got to stop making excuses for lawless behaviour per se. And we do have to accept personal responsiblity, for our own conduct and the choices we make. Until then, we'll never build those necessary 'bridges of understanding', between our two cultures.
Kind regards...O Sung Wu.

Kartiya,

I'm also from a Policing background some of which was in remote NSW in towns where blacks out weighted whites to the ration of 10:1 and where a population of 500 required 11 Police. You will never see this ratio of Police to Population in any other NSW town.

The education argument pops up regularly and to a certain extent I agree (along the line of O Sung Wu's - yes I suppose you would expect that, but hear me out). There is certainly no lack of resources for Aboriginal education, in fact the dollar per person for Aboriginal funding is vastly higher than that for 'any' other section of the community.

From what I've seen it is not the lack of opportunity, but the lack of will to be educated. Again it is an excuse that is used to conveniently absolve the Aboriginal from their basic responsibilities. I found that the culture to avoid education (and many other socially accepted practices) was encouraged by the elders in the area. So what hope do the young ones have? Bugger all.

I think a lot more effort needs to be put in by the educated Aboriginals to educate the uneducated of them. It is not just the governments problem. The government provides the facilities and it is up to the individual to use them or not.

You can't say its not prossible for Aboriginals to get education as you and many other can attest to that.

Quiggley,

Your post simply re-inforces the point Victor Hart made. You are just 'Blaming blackfellas for their lot'.

You've also made an illogical argument. Firstly an assumption police practices are always correct and fair. Then you've attempted to blame indigenous people for not educating themselves ... to be just like 'us'.

Yep you would definitely have a policing background.

Just down the road from me is Brisbane's largest concentration of Police. Does that mean my locale has more crime than other areas?
Do the Police think I'm prone to crime? You see I've only had education to year 12, drink whiskey, am loud on occassion and have attributes so unlike others?

Why is the road to sense and understanding so torturous?

Thanks for this temperate and well-balanced article, Victor. It's very telling that, despite the Royal Commission recommendations and numerous reports since, little has changed in Qld Police culture in its interface with Indigenous people. This is attested to by the justificatory, victim-blaming posts above by a couple of ex-law enforcement types.

It also beggars belief that the police thug who, according to the Coroner, caused Mulrunji's death has thus far avoided any significant consequences, yet the entire Palm Island community has been effectively indicted by Beattie & Co for their understandable response.

Nice to see that OLO's resident crusader-in-chief has belatedly discovered that people at Cherbourg are still seriously disadvantaged by the institutionalised thuggery imposed upon them by both the state and the 'Christian' missions, but if he was to dig just a little bit deeper he would discover that this pattern of Indigenous-Colonial relations was replicated all over the country - notably at Palm Island.

Quiggley, It is interesting you say that where you were some of the elders were against education. This is against their natural inclination as traditionally they spent years getting their oral cultural knowledge degrees .Some went on to be as A P Elkin called them "Aboriginal Men of High Degree".These were people that had an enormous amount of knowledge of their Culture. Something is wrong-just could it be OUR ATTITUDE .
The Maoris ,with the benefit of a Treaty have been going to University for 100 years and producing their own doctors .It's all to do with respect for difference .The New Zealanders did it -we MUST too to humanise AND HEAL Australia's psyche as a nation.
One should remember that the historically often violent contact between white policemen and Aboriginal People has been generally anything but conducive to good race relations . White ,and on many occasion black policemen upheld Racist WHITE LAW - Laws of Dispossion , that was their job.
They have had very little time and very little help from Governments to calm the waters to date .