Small Town + Small Minds = Racist Pigs

I need to put some extremely hurtful and utterly racist rumours to rest.

It was only two months ago when I learned from Brett Tibbett, Chairperson of the Grafton Ngerrie Local Aboriginal Land Council that the community had been apportioning blame for the fire at my property last year to a young Aboriginal Person. I had not been privy to these nasty rumours until Brett told me what was being said in the community.

Today I went to the local Chemist to have a script filled and the beautiful young woman who served me said "Oh you own the shop in Westlawn that was burnt'. I replied with yes and for the record it WAS NOT a young Aboriginal person that burnt my property. Her response was at first a massive shocked look on her face and then she commented 'But everyone has been saying it was'.

My reply was that if a 17 year old Aboriginal person had set fire to a property where a young family were sound asleep, with three children ranging in ages from 6 to 20 inside they would have been straight into the Adult Court and given no bail and would have been charged with at the very least Attempted Manslaughter and the relevant Arson offences. 

I knew the minute the Police told me that the young offender, who was 17, wouldn't even be taken before a court and that they were going to put him straight into the Community Conferencing program without a court appearance that it was obviously not a young Aboriginal person. In fact when the Officer concerned relayed this very information to me that was my first response to him 'so, he isn't an Aboriginal young person then?'

Because of the Law around Juvenile Offenders I cannot name the offender. All I can say is he WAS NOT ABORIGINAL. I've also seen enough of the treatment of Aboriginal people through my career in Law Enforcement and through my subsequent years of study, community and youth work and volunteering. These attitudes held by the ignorant racist members of our Community are the greatest human rights breach there is. Prejudging a human being because of their 'race' is the underpinning flaw in not only the thinking of human beings, but thinking of those we elect as our advocates to government. THIS MUST STOP.

I've lived in the Valley for 7 years now, this is my mothers home, and her families home since non-Aboriginal Settlement.

In that time the most respectful, helpful, appreciative, honest, supportive friends I have made have in the majority been people who are Aboriginal.

I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY FURTHER SLANDERING OF OUR ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY.