Gallop jumps on indigenous "reform" bandwagon
by Bob Briton WA Premier Geoff Gallop last week joined the growing ranks of Australian political leaders feeling compelled to offer Aboriginal people gratuitous advice about "individual responsibility". The occasion was the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy during a high-speed police chase on a Perth highway. While the boy's family and community were still in shock and grieving, the Premier threw off the constraints of tact and sympathy to deliver his "get real" message to Indigenous leaders: "Let's deal with the issues honestly and openly instead of trying to pretend there are some historical reasons that justify this behaviour . the issue wasn't about the police chase. The issue was about those youngsters stealing a car and going on a joy ride when they should have been at school." Embarrassingly for Dr Gallop, the boys' school had been closed for a pupil- free day when the incident took place. Nevertheless, an opportunity had presented itself to absolve corporate dominated Australian society of any responsibility for the economic and social circumstances of Aboriginal people and the Premier grabbed it with both hands. Aboriginal leaders recognise that their youth have problems. However, as Aboriginal family violence expert Boni Robertson noted about Dr Gallop's outburst, "It is offensive and racially inciting because it apportions blame to Aboriginal families when the same things happen in white families." The Premier's comments were made at a time of growing disquiet about the treatment of Aboriginal people by public authorities. The Youth Affairs Council of WA is planning to take the matter of the curfew for teenagers in Perth's Northbridge entertainment precinct to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on the grounds that it discriminates on the basis of race and age. Under the policy, unsupervised children under 16 are banned from Northbridge after 10pm and under-13s are prohibited from the area after dark without supervision. The restrictions are said to be an effort to reduce crime in the district. Since its introduction, the curfew has netted 159 youths — 134, or 84 percent of them are Indigenous. The Youth Affairs Council will present evidence that some youths have been picked up while simply changing trains in Northbridge on their way home or travelling through the precinct in cars. Many observers feel that the curfew is another example of the "out-of- sight, out-of-mind" approach to Indigenous people and their problems that is reasserting itself at the official level. Further evidence is easy to find. A girl aged 11 spent the night in a police lock-up in Geraldton the weekend before last after being arrested for writing graffiti. The child — who had had no previous convictions — was held with her 15-year-old sister in the adult cells of the station. A magistrate later ordered no further punishment for the child and Police Minister Michelle Roberts has ordered a full report on the incident, saying that she was "very concerned" about the facts as they appeared. Earlier last month, two Aboriginal boys aged 13 and 15 were held overnight in the Geraldton lock-up for stealing $3 worth of chewing gum. Regional Police Inspector John Ballantyne told the media recently that, in such cases, the children should have been cautioned or referred to a Juvenile Justice Team instead of being arrested. Others noted that, while Geraldton lacked adequate services for youth, emergency youth accommodation and Family and the Children's Services Department could have been called upon. The Premier's recent comments were the last thing that genuinely concerned parties needed.