Kuranda’s Indigenous elders discipline alleged kid crime group
First Nations leaders in the small Far North town of Kuranda say they have rounded up and “dealt with” a group of children allegedly behind a recent crime wave in the village and say the justice system isn’t working.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
First Nations leaders in the small Far North town of Kuranda say they have rounded up and “dealt with” a group of children allegedly behind a recent crime wave in the village and say the justice system isn’t working.
In the past week, there has been a major escalation of break-ins in the town and in a 24-hour period, Pho Corner, the post office and Coral Coast Leather were allegedly targeted by youths.
More broadly, there’s concern from residents and business owners that youth crime and anti-social behaviour is seriously tarnishing the reputation of the once safe and vibrant village in the rainforest.
And the escalating problem has seriously divided the small community and spurred an outpouring of vitriol and hate speech on social media.
Retail worker Samara Kendall, who is employed at a shop in the Original Rainforest Markets, described the crisis as a “falling over” of the quirky rainforest hamlet.
“It’s been very difficult for people to have a respectful conversation about a problem that’s affecting everyone,” she said.
“We all want the same outcome and I appreciate people are angry, but if they engage in hate speech and bad will on (social media), that just creates a further divide.
“And there have been some outrageous claims, like (links to) organised crime ... but we are talking about disaffected teenagers.”
Reduced visitor numbers since the Covid pandemic, a general neglect of public spaces, upkeep of buildings, transport issues, closed shops and empty tenancies have also contributed to the shine wearing off the town’s former vibrancy.
Business owners John and Claudia Collingwood have run a successful art store for more than a decade on Coondoo St, the town’s main drag.
They both raised concerns about a sharp rise in break-ins, thefts, property damaged and graffiti.
“There is so much damage happening around our shop all the time, the (street) lamps are all destroyed and we had a reflective traffic mirror smashed,” Ms Collingwood said.
“They’re not even scared to do it in front of police station because they know nobody’s there.”
Ms Collingwood called for affected residents to contact the state’s Police Minister Dan Purdie to plead for a solution, including more boots on the ground.
“We need more police presence, a unified response will provide (government) with a bigger incentive to help us (but) we are not here to blame anyone, just bring a solution to our current problem,” she said.
She said with no active chamber of commerce and no residents association, advocacy to bring positive change was a challenge for the village.
She believed the absence of visible action from authorities had ignited both racism and vigilantism.
Business owners on Sunday reported noticing increase of police foot patrols, but the Queensland Police Service is yet to publicly respond to calls for the return of a 24-hour police station in the town.
Kuranda resident and First Nations woman Nat Griffin said she was concerned frustrated business owners could take matters into their own hands if the wayward kids were not brought into line.
“A couple of them got locked up and then more came in, you’d be disgusted, go down to the park on top of where the toilets are, they spray painted the Kuranda sign, it’s not right,” she said.
“And the corner shop over there there’s graffiti everywhere, if they want to do that, go do an art course, it’s not Sydney.
“I’m hurt for the kids, because these (vigilantes) might actually (hurt) them, they’re getting desperate and it’s pretty horrible to hear that, that’s scary.
“To tell you the truth, the parents need (to be held accountable).”
Kuranda Vape Hut owner Sarie Narasimulu has been broken into a total of six times, four of which have been since the start of the year.
Heavy iron gates have now been installed in front of roller doors at the Therwine St outlet.
“It’s very bad,” he said.
“They stole all the money and lighters and cigarettes and they broke the camera and the glass cupboard, that cost $700 to replace and they took soft drinks,” he said.
An Indigenous leader who spoke to the Cairns Post on condition of anonymity said a crisis meeting of Kuranda bama had been held at the Djabugay Aboriginal Corporation headquarters.
“We have told the police to back off and to let the community handle it,” she said.
“We don’t like what is happening and it’s reflecting badly on all of us ... we have managed to round (the kids) up and we have taken steps to prevent it from happening.
“We have always done it this way, we discipline our own because the white man’s law is not working.”
The leader said an apology to the Kuranda community would soon be forthcoming in a public statement, but she declined to provide details of the consequences given to the group.
“This is not an all-black issue, kids are kids and there are limited services and there is nothing for them to do,” she said.
“We want to do some proactive messages and start dealing with them, we don’t need all this negative stuff.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Kuranda’s Indigenous elders discipline alleged kid crime group
Four years jail for ‘cowardly pursuit’ that ended ‘great’ dad’s life
A teenager who tried to pick a fight with a father then chased the man onto a busy road where he was struck and killed, should be out of jail before the end of the year.
‘Ludicrous’: Councillor speaks out over ‘greenwashing’ of carbon credits
Cairns Regional Council will sell its carbon credits to major global polluters with angry councillors claiming mayor Amy Eden is greenwashing the city’s environmental credentials.