Selective perception and labelling plays a vital part in any judicial system.
Lexi,
Yes that is happening & that's what many non-indigenous aren't happy about. As soon as the word indigenous appears the judiciary cowers behind PC & does nothing to address the causes of the problems. It may not coincide with your perception but I guarantee you that those indigenous who spend time in a lock-up are there because they genuinely misbehaved.
I speak to the Police all the time & they can't afford to do anything wrong or right because if they don't deal with an indigenous delinquent they cop criticism from the non-indigenous & when they do deal with an indigenous delinquent they get criticised by the indigenous. One thing you have to understand & believe is that blood is a hell of a lot thicker than water. No matter how wrong an indigenous is he will never get condemned by his people especially if it can be at the expense of a non-indigenous.
The concept of integrity is as foreign to them as it is to our judiciary.

o sung wo that person, mentioned in your post as problem.
She is a racist and even if it hurts the truth still is true.
She however is not unlike many such law givers.
I agree with all comments about them as the biggest part of the trouble.
I got involved in helping out by miss take.
A Nephew got out of control, and in trouble, he was living with a girl, far better than him, on a mission.
He is white, that changes nothing, police, remember along time ago, followed yet another stolen car on to the mission.
A RIOT BEGAN, TO STOP POLICE ARRESTING OFFENDERS.
a POLICEMAN was bashed, by my nephew.
After his prison term, I had taken his partner to see him often, others asked me to transport them, and it grew.
I think our system , holds much of the responsibility, for this behavior,we produce kids who know no better.
But on those trips,until I became aware,every thing not secured was stolen from my cars.
We can do better, Aware Lexi and I are not seeing eye to eye, such is life, I openly sat things like that did take place, probably still do, to all colors.
But think that book may not value truth as much as some, I do know we must do far better.

(a senator for Queensland)
Lexi,
Was it really necessary to remind me of that ? I didn't take you for a sadistic person :-)
Indigenous of the past did get as much of a raw deal as they dished out themselves. The so-called & often imagined injustices weren't so unjust whilst others were over the top. These were handed out by each side. There's no living indigenous now who can honestly claim injustice but I know many non-indigenous who can. Just because you're being asked to discipline yourself does not make it racist or discriminatory.
I witnessed a confrontation a few years ago in a Cape York community. A new chap arrived to work as a carpenter & whilst having a drink in the canteen with a then councillor another local kept hassling the new chap. He constantly had to talk him out of starting a fight & even the councillor turned around several times & told the local to cut it out. Eventually the local hit the new chap & the new chap hit back & decked him with one swing. Because the local went to the ground by getting decked by a white fellow the councillor, his brother & the local then belted the new chap. That's when it became crystal clear to me where the racism really was.

Dear Indy,

Hopefully many things have changed by now in our
relations with the Indigenous people. Tolerance and
understanding have broadened out. I'm not trying
to be deliberately contentious. Merely pointing
out that the past still weighs heavily on the
present and I'd hate for it to destroy any hope we
have of reconciliation in this generation. We all
read about "deaths in custody," and can't help but
wonder why they occur. Has the Justice System
really been fair to our Indigenous people? I don't
really know. But I suspect that the record is not
a blemish-free one.

Did you know that it was only in 1966 that Aborigines and
Islanders were given the same access to the welfare system
as other Australians. My impression is that this had
little immediate impact, as few indigenous families knew
of their rights and there appeared to be no publicity to
enlighten them. So they either depended on friends and
relatives or turned to the state department with all
its potential danger and threatening shadow of 'the Act.'

Enough said however. See you on another thread - With all
due respect - I'm
frankly too tired to continue with this one.

Dear Belly,

We can disagree on many, many topics - but so what.
We can still respect each other's opinions and be friends.
I fully understand where you're coming from. And, I can feel
Indy's passion on so many matters. I have
family members who would agree with both you and Indy.
Just because I have a different opinion does not mean
that I hold anything against either you or Indy. I merely
happen to think differently on some issues. And there's
nothing wrong with that is there. We all see things from
our own point of view afterall (subjectivity) and our own
values and experiences.

Lexi>> Dear SOG,
Thank You<<

Lexi no, thank you, we are simpatico on this issue.

The boys (Indi and Belly) can be forthright, but without your input they would have no voice…..they wouldn’t need one….no one to argue with you see? Your opinion is of value to them….otherwise they would not answer you.

What I have noted about this thread is that only a small core of posters, pros and cons for descriptive sake, have contributed. Does that denote an apathy to the situation in regard to Aboriginal youths, or does it reflect an acceptance that it is in the nature of the Aboriginal people to be law breakers?

I argued that it was nurture rather than nature, but most negative views here can find a response only in harsher treatment. I personally believe harsh treatment, not inhumane, should be the norm for all young and first time offenders. Scare the tripe out of them; it will work with a fair percentage of them.

BUT what use is that to an Aboriginal kid who has to return to a community in social crisis,he already knows what harsh is, he grew up in it. As OSW said; incarceration is a badge of courage in these communities.

Lexi it is about education because that is what has historically lifted individuals and nations from the dung heap. BUT thanks to our social engineers we were informed a month ago that Australian school kids are dead last in literacy among all the English speaking nations. We rank beside Bulgaria……anyone for dinkum vampires?

Dear SOG,

Thanks for your kind words.
But I still feel that it's you that deserves
the praise, not me. You tend to look at things
not only from both sides, but you look at the
issues around the edges as well. ;-)

I believe that a great deal of the problem
concerning working with our Indigenous people
is the lack of understanding and appreciation of
Aboriginal habits, customs, rituals and
spiritual values. Most of the attitudes seem to be
paternalistic. I'm sure that even in Redfern the
authorities lack the cultural sensitivity to the
local Aborigines, and, for that matter, to the
whites who've made Redfern their home. Perhaps in
teamwork and co-operation lies the answer to
solving some of the problems. I don't think
that imposing harsher penalities is going to work.
It never has in the past.