aborigines drinking royalties on booze, page-69

nickyjames,

"Spend 1 hour in a mission and you will see how far away from a civilized society they are. Spend one hour after dark in a mission and I would applaud you if you walked away with a clean pair of jocks."

In 2003 I spent a few days in Wadeye (Port Keats) in the NT. I believe it has changed a fair bit since then. Most whites homes were in high wire compounds and most had fearsome looking dogs. I was given strict instructions. Drive, don't walk to the shops. Secure the dogs before you open the gates to get the car out. Re enter by the personal gate and let the dogs back into the yard. Never go out after dark.
After sundown the noise from the locals was amazing. Really loud heavy metal music and wild drunken yelling and screaming that went on all night.
Many of the police officers had never slept a night through in a 2 year stint.
The next morning the nursing post did it's best to repair the walking wounded. If a girl was capable of getting pregnant, then she'd be pregnant. The violence was terrible and it was a terrifying place particularly for females.

A federal govt intervention a few years later has made some significant improvements. I would imagine that it costs a lot but if you'd seen what I'd seen you couldn't begrudge the victims the efforts to make their lives safer.

I don't know the answers, but we can't just do nothing.