Aborigines in the News! - "racism or genetics?"

5 charged with child sex abuse - Young ’Abo’s playing with doodles again

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/02/21/2399_news.html

5 charged with child sex abuse


Damon Guppy

February 21, 2007

A YOUTH and four men, aged 16-38, have been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two girls from a remote community near Cooktown.
The girls, aged 12 and 14, from an Aboriginal community, which cannot be named because it might identify them, were allegedly abused repeatedly over seven years.
Cairns Child Protection and Investigation Unit detectives expect to lay further charges as part of Operation Blaze, a probe into abuse claims.
Det Sen-Sgt Glenn Horan said the five people had been charged already.
"It (Operation Blaze) centred around communities in the Cooktown area," he said.
A man, 33, was charged with eight counts of incest and three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 12.
Two men aged 21 and 20 were each charged with two counts of rape.
A 17-year-old man is accused of raping the 12-year-old girl.
Police also have charged a 16-year-old boy with two counts of indecent treatment and one count of incest.
"There are further matters that we are investigating," Det Sen-Sgt Horan said.
He said the probe started earlier this month from a single abuse claim regarding one of the girls.
"We had information a child was being sexually assaulted by a relative," he said.
The abuse of the girls allegedly dates back to 2001.
Det Sen-Sgt Horan said the prevalence of such offences was becoming more apparent because of the police campaign Be Strong, Be Heard, which teaches children and agencies in indigenous communities about the laws and symptoms of child abuse.
"Younger members of the community realise that if they report matters, police will investigate," he said.
"At the very least, we will make sure the child is not at risk."
In an unrelated case, detectives last Friday also charged a 41-year-old Manunda man with rape, supplying alcohol to a minor and trespass.
 
Aboriginal art sales 'mostly fraud' ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ We could say ’Fake’

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21260956-5006790,00.html

Aboriginal art sales 'mostly fraud'

Ashleigh Wilson

February 21, 2007

SOUVENIR shops selling Aboriginal art across the nation are dealing almost exclusively in the work of "fakers, forgers and fraudsters", the Northern Territory Government said yesterday.
Addressing a Senate Committee hearing in Darwin on the future of Aboriginal art, Territory Arts Minister Marion Scrymgour said the multi-million dollar industry needed to be nurtured, if not protected, to remain sustainable.
She said she had concerns about the number of shops around Darwin selling art and souvenirs that were "purportedly Aboriginal".
She said most buyers were sympathetic to Aboriginal artists and wanted authentic works, only to be "ripped off" at stores such as these.
"I make no comment about the shops dealing primarily in Aboriginal art -- some of them deal ethically," Ms Scrymgour told the committee.
"It is the other shops that are of serious concern. The material they call Aboriginal art is almost exclusively the work of fakers, forgers and fraudsters. Their work hides behind false descriptions and dubious designs."
The senate inquiry, which will hear evidence in Alice Springs today and in Sydney on Friday, was set up after The Australian highlighted allegations of unscrupulous conduct in the indigenous art industry last year.
Art centers and Aboriginal leaders have attacked some private dealers for paying artists with drugs, alcohol or second-hand cars, saying the market was flooded with poor-quality works.
 
Aboriginal 'circle' is shaping up OK - 'Are we sure?'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21271315-5006784,00.html

Aboriginal 'circle' is shaping up OK


Susannah Moran


SYDNEY - Australia


February 23, 2007


ABORIGINAL "circle sentencing" has begun in Sydney, with the NSW Government confident the "shaming" approach in the legal process reduces recidivism.
Northern Territory prosecutor Nanette Rogers said last year she was "fed-up" with the emphasis on customary law, claiming Aborigines were being given lighter sentences.
An elder and chair of the Mount Druitt Justice Group, Ray Leslie said customary law, which was not recognized in NSW, was actually tougher than going through a court sentencing.
"These people would have to have more courage in facing the Aboriginal legal community, their own community, and they don't get off any lighter - it is just done in a culturally acceptable way."
Circle sentencing began in 2002 in Nowra, on NSW's south coast. Eight regional towns now have circles but Mt Druitt is the first in Sydney. Mr Leslie hopes circles will be available in Redfern and Campbelltown later this year.
Armidale, in northern NSW, set up a circle last year, and only one out of 11 people has re-offended.
Circle sentencing is only available for those offenders who plead guilty to their crimes - and they have to ask to be referred. The offenders must be of Aboriginal descent, and elders decide whether they think the person will be suitable for circle sentencing. Four Aboriginal elders sit in the circle. A magistrate, police prosecutor and lawyers are also present, as well as the offender, who can bring along a support person. Victims are invited to attend to talk about the impact of the crime.
The circle is convened away from the courts - often in a community hall - and the magistrate starts by outlining the various sentencing options. The sentence imposed must be within the limits set out by the magistrate.
Mt Druitt project co-coordinator Jasmine Franklin said circle sentencing worked because of its cultural approach.
"When Aboriginal people go to court, other people do the talking for them. But here you have to talk for yourself; you have to answer to the elders. That can be very powerful because of the shame factor.
"Your elders are still going to be there in the community, you can't get away from it. It is a shame on your family as well as you."
Offenders often receive a tougher sentence than they may otherwise have received and may also be required to undergo alcohol counseling, attend a men's or women's group - or even a music class.
NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus said the scheme had the potential for hundreds of Aboriginal offenders to break free from the cycle of crime and was helping to lower re-offence rates.
 
Rape accused had 'no libido' - ' The Doodle boys'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21272579-5006790,00.html

Rape accused had 'no libido'


Ashleigh Wilson


DARWIN - Australia


February 23, 2007


ONE of the adults accused of gang-raping an 11-year-old boy at a remote Aboriginal community suffered a sexual dysfunction that reduced his libido and sexual ability, a Darwin court has heard.
The boy, now 12, was allegedly attacked repeatedly over five months last year at Maningrida, 500km east of Darwin, by five teenagers and four adults. Charges against a fifth adult were dropped earlier this week.
Darwin Magistrates Court has heard the boy was anally raped, forced to smoke cannabis, bound with shoelaces and sexually assaulted with a stick.
But in court yesterday, a doctor who treated one of the adults said his 19-year-old patient had significantly lower testosterone levels than normal men, suffered testicular failure and lacked body hair.
Malcolm McDonald told the court he had recommended the patient receive hormone replacement therapy. There were no records to show the man had ever received the treatment.
Dr McDonald said people with this dysfunction often found it difficult to get an erection. "People who do not have testosterone do not have sexual libido, they have low sexual ability," he said.
The court also heard that a police search of two Maningrida houses where some of the abuse allegedly occurred netted several pornographic DVDs.
As well as a cannabis pipe and a box for a penis enlarger, the court heard police found pornographic movies with titles such as Teenage Brother Lover, Gang Banging Whores and Barely 18.
The five teenagers are facing a separate committal hearing, which began in Darwin two weeks ago before being adjourned until next month.
 
Fire lessons to be learned from Aborigines ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ “No way, we can learn Boozing from them’

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21295552-29277,00.html?from=public_rss

Fire lessons to be learned from Aborigines


By Rob Taylor

Queensland - Australia


February 27, 2007 03:02pm


ANCIENT Australian Aborigines may hold the key to battling huge bushfires which have blackened large parts of Europe, the US and Australia in recent years, fire experts said today.
Prehistoric Aboriginal people across Australia methodically burnt land to hunt and stimulate the growth of plants, as well as reduce the fierceness of natural bushfires.
They also understood that forest fuels could not go untended, in an early lesson for modern societies threatened by mega fires triggered by climate change and rising world temperatures, an Australian climate scientist said.
"We have to figure out what we are reserving our forests for. If we are reserving them for big fires, then that's working well," Phil Cheney from Australia's top scientific body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), told a fire conference in Canberra.
Mega fires occur when large bushfires merge and form super forefronts that burn with hurricane intensity, often leveling hundreds of homes and vast areas of bush land.
Mega fires in 2003 destroyed thousands of homes in France, Portugal, Spain, the US and Canada, while fires this year swept uncontrolled for more than a month through an area bigger than Lebanon in Australia's rugged southeastern Alps.
Top US fire expert Jerry Williams from the Brookings Institute told the meeting recent mega fires were the result of political and environmental decisions globally to curtail forest burn-offs.
"We need to take more risk in using fire," Mr Williams said.
Climate experts told the conference that steady global temperature rises were leading to longer fire seasons across the world and mega fires burned with such intensity that they left little behind.
"There are no refuges for fauna," Mr Cheney said. "Our choice is whether we burn frequently at low intensity in mild weather of our choosing, or whether we are subjected to the whims of nature."
 
Abos pick on man

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1862379.htm

Man attacked with pickaxe
A man has been stabbed with a pickaxe at a Perth shopping centre.

The 37-year-old man was stabbed in the neck while using an ATM at the Nollaramra Shopping Centre at 9.30pm AWDT.

Police say the wounded man sought help from people in a nearby kebab shop before being taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

Officers are looking for three Aboriginal men aged between 25 and 35, who are between 175 and 180 centimetres tall.

All were last seen wearing dark clothes.
 
Abo does wrong!

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/03/05/2496_news.html



Abo jailed for abuse
05Mar07

THE son of a Cape York Aboriginal elder has been jailed for indecently dealing with two girls.

The 34-year-old, of Mareeba, who cannot be named under Queensland law, was sentenced to one-and-a-half years for two counts of indecently dealing with the children in June 2004.

He groped the two girls as they slept near him on a veranda at the home of a relative.

One of the girls, 11 at the time, used to call him grandfather.

The other, just 12, also trusted him as a fatherly and caring family figure.

But their trust was shattered when he groped them in two incidents just days apart.

Prosecutor Sussann Bell told the Cairns District Court how the Mareeba man laughed at his 12-year-old victim when she warned him she would tell her parents.

Eventually it was the 11-year-old who summoned the courage to tell her mother of the incident.

Defending barrister Rod Curtin said the man had been drinking heavily and hadn’t been taking his medication for diabetes.

Judge Peter White said young people were entitled to look to senior males in a family for protection, not sexual molestation.

He said the prisoner would be eligible for parole on September 24.
 
Inquest into riot death -'Abo's dancing again in NT'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21344311-5006790,00.html

Inquest into riot death

March 08, 2007

NT - Australia


THE Northern Territory Coroner will hold an inquest into the death of a teenager shot by a policeman during a riot at a Top End Aboriginal community.

Robert Gregory Whittington was originally charged with murder following the incident at Wadeye, 300km southwest of Darwin, in October 2002.

An 18-year-old was killed and a second man injured when fighting broke out between two gangs at the community.
Charges against Mr Whittington - downgraded to doing a dangerous act causing death - were quashed in August last year.

In Darwin last month, the Territory's Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed an appeal against that decision and the Director of Public Prosecutions said the matter was closed.

Territory Coroner Greg Cavanagh yesterday announced he would hold a coronial inquest into the teenager's death in August.

Police officer escapes charges

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No charges ... the case against Robert Whittington has been dropped.
 
Police threatened by Aborigines in NT ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ ’Abo’s in action again’

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Natio...borigines-in-NT/2007/03/09/1173166968564.html

Police threatened by Aborigines in NT :rollpin:

March 9, 2007 - 4:24PM

NT - Australia


Two large groups of Aborigines have threatened police during separate incidents in the Northern Territory, resulting in 17 arrests.
Shortly after 9pm (CST) on Thursday, police at the remote Aboriginal community of Groote Eylandt went to the airport after they were told a group of people were bringing alcohol into the restricted area.
They confiscated 38 bottles of alcohol following a search of six passengers on board a flight from Darwin.
About 30 people then turned on police, demanding the grog back and threatening the officers and other airport staff when their demands were refused.
The situation was defused but an hour later police were told a large group of people had congregated at the community of Angurugu to storm the local police station and retrieve their alcohol.
The officers visited the community and arrested a 41-year-old man over the incident at the airport.
He was charged with being armed with an offensive weapon and disorderly behavior and bailed to appear in the Alyangula Court on March 20.
Two men aged 41 and 28 and four women aged 43, 41, 37 and 25 will be summonsed for bringing alcohol into the restricted area. Further charges are expected to be laid, police said.
In a separate incident at Katherine about 10.30pm (CST) on Thursday night, police received reports that a person had been knocked unconscious near Westpac Bank.
The officers were hindered by a large group of people while they attempted to assist the 25-year-old man, who had suffered minor injuries.
One man had to be subdued with OC (capsicum) spray and police allege a 20-year-old man began to swing punches, striking three people.
The group then dispersed but they gathered again at the Katherine Hotel ab
 
Sugar Ray to face trial ÃԠ’”šÃ‚¢ÃƒÆ’‚¢”� �Ã…¡”šÃ‚¬“ ’Another crook ’ABO’

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21379637-3102,00.html

Sugar Ray to face trial


March 14, 2007 10:15am

Australia

Former ATSIC commissioner "Sugar" Ray Robinson has been committed to stand trial on dishonesty charges.
Robinson faces two charges of dishonestly obtaining a benefit, or alternatively, two charges of dishonestly exercising his powers as an ATSIC commissioner.

The charges relate to his alleged sale of vehicles owned by Aboriginal employment firm, Bidjara CDEP Ltd.

The commonwealth has alleged he used the proceeds for his own benefit.

In the Charleville Magistrates Court today, Magistrate Ray Rinaudo committed Robinson to stand trial in the District Court at a date to be set.
 
Territory abuse a 'national tragedy' - drunken Aboriginal violence

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21384701-5006790,00.html

Territory abuse a 'national tragedy'


Ashleigh Wilson


March 15, 2007

NT - Australia

ALL Australians should be embarrassed by the increasingly high level of drunken Aboriginal violence in central Australia, a judge said yesterday as he sentenced a man to three years in prison for beating his wife with an iron bar.
Speaking out in frustration during a court sitting in Alice Springs, Northern Territory Supreme Court judge Trevor Riley said alcohol-related violence in the region was going from bad to worse.
He said eight cases of violence came before the chief justice last month, and all involved Aboriginal men affected by alcohol. Seven of the victims were women.

"The problem is not one just for the Aboriginal community of central Australia," Justice Riley said. "It is not one just for the people of Alice Springs. It is not one just for the people of the Northern Territory.

"It must be a matter of deep concern for the nation. This is a tragedy about which all Australians must feel embarrassed, and that all Australians should feel the need to address."

Justice Riley made the comments while sentencing Ricky Nelson, 24, to three years in jail, with a non-parole period of 18 months, for the second attack on his wife in a month.

Nelson, an alcoholic former petrol sniffer, had earlier been sentenced to three months' jail for an incident involving his wife in Alice Springs on September 7 last year.

On September 14 he became jealous of his wife and began to beat her at the Aboriginal community of Papunya, 300km northwest of Alice Springs.

The court heard he struck her with an iron bar to the back of her head, right shoulder and then broke her left forearm.

In an unusually strong and extended commentary during sentencing yesterday, Justice Riley said the case was just another example of the violence that was becoming common in central Australia.

"The number of victims seems to be ever-increasing, and the level of violence continues to be horrifying," he said.

"Violent offending of this kind reached an unacceptable level a long time ago. Notwithstanding the recognition of the problem within the Northern Territory, and more recently on the national stage, the problem is worsening."

Justice Riley said authorities had to tackle the "widespread and extreme" problem of alcohol abuse to stop offenders coming before the courts.

"It is already too late to deal with such violence once it is before the courts," he said. "Something must be done before the violence occurs."
 
Abos go on chainsaw rampage -

You won't find any mention of Abos here but William of the White Hand can assure readers that Belyuen is an Aboriginal community. "Community" is often code in the Territory for Aboriginal.

http://ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,21397155%5E13569,00.html

Residents cower in chainsaw 'riot'
By REBEKAH CAVANAGH
17mar07

TERRIFIED people were threatened with chainsaws, cars were torched and houses trashed during an all-night attack on a Territory community.

And when the rioters could not find people to bash, they went after pets _ breaking dogs' legs and beating the animals with steel bars.

Many residents cowered in the bush during the attack. Eighteen people who feared for their lives were evacuated to Darwin.

One man told the Northern Territory News: ``To go back would be suicide.''

The attack on the Belyuen community, on the Cox Peninsula across the harbour from Darwin, involved 50 men and women.

It started on Thursday night and didn't end until yesterday morning.

The school and health centre were closed yesterday and children and health workers evacuated.

The attack is believed to have been sparked by a power struggle on the community. Trouble started about 8pm when two men had to dive into the sea at Cullen Bay to escape a mob.

The gang crossed the harbour by ferry that evening and began drinking.

The attack started about 11pm. One resident, who spent the night hiding in the bush, said: ``They kept yelling out to me to `come out and fight like a man'.

``I was on the run all night and had to hide in the bush. It was very scary.

``It's a bit of a suicide mission if you want to go back there.

``One lady was dragged, beaten, bashed and then taken to the clinic. She lost a fair bit of blood.

``I was punched in the back of the neck when I tried to help a woman up.''

The man said it was only a matter of time before someone would be killed.

``They put a chainsaw through the front windshield of my car and put our 4WD in neutral and rolled it into the bush and torched it,'' he said.

``They ransacked the whole house, smashed our TV, burnt our clothes, and took meat out of freezer.''

``And when we were all hiding in the grass, because no-one was around they went and attacked the dogs. There were dogs walking around with blood gushing out of their heads and some of them had broken legs.

``It was just horrific. This is the worst I've seen it.''

Police were called about 10pm. Belyuen does not have a police post and it officers more than an hour to reach the community.
 
Re: Abos go on chainsaw rampage -

Must have been a truly bloody place in the 30,000 years before the white man showed up.
 
Aboriginal land row - ... and pay a $350 fee.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21420441-2862,00.html

Aboriginal land row


March 21, 2007 10:00am

Victoria - Australia

VICTORIANS planning to do any farming or construction work on soiled areas will have to consult Aboriginal inspectors and pay a $350 fee.

Under regulations soon to be released by the Victorian Government, landholders will have to pay a "registered Aboriginal party" to check their land before major work can begin.

According to a report in The Weekly Times, it is believed the regulations are set to come into effect at the start of Reconciliation Week, on May 27.

Under the regulations, anyone carrying out "high-impact'' activity in a "culturally sensitive'' area will need to develop a Cultural Heritage Management Plan.

High-impact activity includes subdividing land into more than three lots, building more than three houses, establishing or expanding a vineyard or irriigated cropping farm, digging dams near waterways, ripping rabbit warrens and building roads, railways and even shops.

Sensitive areas include registered cultural heritage places, native vegetation areas, areas within 200m of a waterways, ancient lakes, waterholes or natural springs, coastal crown land, national parks, high plains, dunes and caves.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Simon Ramsay said the draft regulations were ``totally absurd''.

The Weekly Times also revealed the Department of Victorian Communities was so concerned about the public's response to the draft regulations that only five confidential briefings have been held with industry organisations.

Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence said the regulations breached the Government's promise to cut red tape by 15 per cent by 2009 and 25 per cent by 2012.

``At a time when the Government says it's trying to reduce red tape they do this, which just ramps things up big time for rural councils,'' Mr Spence said.

The Government has already set out fees that farmers, councils, property developers and businesses will have to develop these plans.

Landholders will need to establish whether they need a plan or permit, and then pay a consultant to develop a management plan.

They will also need to check whether their site is listed on the Government's heritage register which costs $21.50.

With a completed plan, landholders need to pay a registered Aboriginal party between $215 to $6450 to evaluate the site as well as a $118.25 cultural-heritage permit fee to the Government to process their application.

A spokeswoman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings said the regulations had not been released and it was premature to discuss them.

They would only apply to work activities that already required some form of permit, she said.
 
Re: Aboriginal land row - ... and pay a $350 fee.

Something like this already happens in New Zealand. New Zealand local bodies generally "consult" Maori before major work begins. The consult generally involves the transfer of monies. Everyone thinks this is wonderful, kosher and just so terribly normal. I'm surprised it took so long before the Australians came onboard.
 
Armed abo gang jewellery store robbery averted

Armed abo gang jewellery store robbery averted

Armed break-in foiled

A SECURITY guard helped prevent a robbery at a shop inside the Northpark Shopping Centre at Prospect this morning.

Just before 5am, a group of up to six males armed with metal poles broke into the shopping centre at Main North Rd and were allegedly about to break into a jewellery store when they were confronted by the guard.

The armed males allegedly threatened the guard before fleeing into two stolen vehicles – a late model red Holden Commodore sedan, registration XIT-363, and a silver Holden Commodore.

Police patrols sighted the vehicles leaving the shopping centre and were involved in a short police pursuit but terminated it soon after due to the dange
rous manner of driving at Klemzig.

The offenders are described as males aged in their early 20s, and of Aboriginal appearance.
 
Abos rampage

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21839159-2682,00.html

Bandits on rampage
June 03, 2007 12:15am


A VIOLENT night of crime on Adelaide streets has frustrated police just a day after they intensified investigations into a rash of robberies.

Victims across Adelaide were robbed and assaulted in shops, at the wheels of taxis and in a phone box on Friday night, with offenders wielding iron bars, knives and using their fists.

Police believe four of the six offences could be linked and are being investigated by Operation Mandrake, which has been focusing on a group of notorious Aboriginal offenders.

This comes as police arrested a Pooraka man, 20, on Friday night – believed to be an associate of Operation Mandrake targets – after a robbery at North Park Shopping Centre on Thursday morning.

In Friday night's swirl of crime, a male and a female taxi driver were robbed in separate incidents when groups of men blocked their cars. Offenders in both incidents are described by police as of Aboriginal appearance.

Police are yet to confirm if the two robberies were linked to an incident on Tuesday at Pasadena, where a taxi driver and his passenger were attacked and robbed by three men.

Friday's crime spree follows an announcement on Thursday that police were stepping up a focus on a series of robberies and offences where most suspects were young Aboriginal men.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael Cornish said four of the incidents on Friday night were being investigated by Operation Mandrake detectives.

"We don't believe all these events are necessarily linked," he said. "The lady robbed in the telephone box, we don't know if it is linked.

"The increased resources went into the taskforce yesterday (Friday), and we will continue to work on this particular issue right through the weekend and for as long as necessary."

He described the incidents as random and focusing on "opportunistic targets".

Operation Mandrake detectives have been focusing on a hard-core group of 49 Aborigines for the past three years.

Of the targets, police revealed yesterday that 20 were in custody, 15 had been granted bail, and one was wanted by police.

They are continuing inquiries into the incident at North Park Shopping Centre just before 5am on Thursday, when a group of five to six men armed with metal poles broke in.

The 20-year-old who was arrested was charged with aggravated serious criminal trespass and illegal use, and bail was refused. He will appear at Holden Hill Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Police are also looking for two stolen vehicles: a silver Holden Commodore with the licence plate XGF 024, and a red Holden Commodore, XRT 363.
 
Abos in animal abuse

Not made clear - but Yarrabah is an aboriginal community. Oh me oh my, what a surprise.

Dog neglect a mongrel act

Damon Guppy

15Jun07

STORY1.gif

Outrage: Shocking images of mangy dogs roaming the streets of Yarrabah have outraged Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne.

THESE shocking images of starving, mangy and scabby dogs have prompted calls for action by the State Government to protect animals at Yarrabah.

Some of the dogs – many of them pups – have died or been put down since the photographs were taken about three months ago but many have recovered because of intervention by authorities.

At the small town, just a few kilometres across Trinity Inlet from Cairns, a horse was ridden so much it developed a saddle-sore that exposed a strip of skin more than 40cm long.

The 18 pictures were sent to Cairns Mayor Kevin Byrne, who has written to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Partnerships Minister Warren Pitt, imploring him to do something about the "most disgraceful of situations".

Cr Byrne described the conditions of the animals as "horrific and disturbing" and he was also concerned about reports that stray dogs were being rounded up and shot.

"I think people need to be shown these pictures," he told The Cairns Post. "This is real life."

Yarrabah’s Mayor Vince Mundraby said the mistreatment of animals had been a problem but his administration had taken steps to improve their welfare.

"It was an issue for some time," he said. "To actually address this issue, it does take some time.

"We are being pro-active."

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries officers, an RSPCA inspector and the council have met to discuss ways to improve the health of the community’s animals and spoken to school children about responsible pet ownership.

Cr Mundraby said council rangers recently had received training in animal management.

It is understood that Queensland Health also has provided money to the council for an animal control officer.

http://www.cairnspost.com.au/article/2007/06/15/3349_news.html

au485173.jpg
Boys from the children's dance group from Yarrabah, an Aboriginal community on the coast near Cairns, in action.
 
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