I couldn't agree more with "Examinator" or less with "nqboy" or "MrRight". Yep, there sure is something is rotten in the state of Qld.

There always was.

I speak as a proud ex-Queenslander, born in Blackall and raised in the Granite Belt.

You've only to watch the episode of "The First Australians" shown tonight on SBS, about the case of Eddie "Koipi" Mabo to know that.

I'd like to draw people's attention to this article on the Palm Island affair: http://www.crikey.com.au/Politics/20081027-The-black-and-white-of-a-Palm-Island-tragedy-.html

Please note that Lex Wotton, a Palm Island community leader, was found guilty last Friday of inciting a riot: he will be sentenced this Friday (7/11) and could be facing life imprisonment.

The police officer who killed Mulrunji received compensation of $100,000 and a promotion to Inspector....

I am nooo expert in these areas but I am very passionate and moved when it comes to death in custody. I reckon we need to get to the point and clean up the mess, the police are the issue here, they need to employ more indigenous police not just liaise officers and make it a good environment for them to work in.

That’s a very disturbing article by Chris Graham. Thanks for bringing it to our attention Melba.

The police bravery awards being handed out today are just disgraceful in the extreme, given the timing and circumstances.

To start with, the officers in question shouldn’t be getting them at all. They were undertaking their duty, presumably in just the manner that they were supposed to do, with the prior knowledge that they may well be required to act in difficult and precarious situations. They were just doing their job! They don’t deserve special public commendation and awards for that…do they?

If one or two had been undertaking tasks over and beyond their call of duty, with great risk to their own wellbeing, in order to save others that were in dire risk, then yes, awards would be appropriate. But for all 22 officers that were on the island at the time to get these awards seems highly inappropriate. It’s a major dilution of the significance of such awards in my view.

So not only is the timing abysmal, but the awards are just grossly inappropriate.

And today’s ceremony is nothing short of Queensland’s biggest ever police awards ceremony.

Wow. Doesn’t the Qld police force, and the Qld government, really know how to stuff up a public relations exercise, when it is surely so important that every effort be made to mitigate the Palm Island unrest (and indigenous unrest and inequality across the country) instead of pretty brazenly provoking its continuance.

I have worked with a number of people immigrating or on 457 visas. One young man told me how in his own country (serbia would you believe) that he had watched documentaries on how terribly racist most Aussies were. When he moved to a mining town he could not believe what he observed. He was the one who copped the abuse and it was not from the whites. There has been to many self loathing whites who get Government funding to write and rewrite Australian history. Instead of finding any constructive answers they are to busy painting all whites racist despite the many who have sacrificed much in order to help the backward communities.

Another family who moved to Western Australia recently have had their homes broken into a number of times. Their kids are terrified and find it hard to sleep. In the area they live, the parents of these criminals are often drunk (the kids fortunate enough to have a mum and dad at home), the kids often miss school choosing instead to roam the streets at night. Some of these kids are 5 and 6 years old. Why would anyone want to be a Policeman in these places?

The bottom line is that 'white experts' scream when the Police do their job and scream louder when they don't. Many leaders in the aboriginal communities need to step up and take some responsibility instead of joining the long line of activist on the gravy train.

I was very cautious to venture an opinion not having been there, but it is very disturbing if all those facts on "crikey" are correct.And as I said, I saw LEX and heard him give an explanation of the events as he saw it.He had a spade in his hand in the T.V. picture, because he had been helping some visiting plumbers to find the the source of a problem they came to fix.I'd be interested to know what the plumbers saw and what they think of Lex Wooten? The spade looked like a very dangerous weapon on the T.V. and he looked a big strong man.It is not surprising that viewers could make up their minds that this was the leader of the rioters.