Burneycalls for calm in strife-torn Wadeye

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has urged calm in the strife-torn remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community of Wadeye and blamed overcrowding for escalating social tensions that overflowed into violence earlier this year.

Damaged housing in Wadeye, NT.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has urged calm in the strife-torn remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community of Wadeye and blamed overcrowding for escalating social tensions that overflowed into ­violence earlier this year.

Her comments come after The Australian travelled to Wadeye last week as the first media invited to the community since an outbreak of violence in March saw armed mobs of up to 300 people battling in the streets.

More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed, an estimated 500 people were displaced and a young man died in fighting that lasted several weeks.

Wadeye residents told The Australian the trouble was family fighting related to longstanding rivalries, exacerbated by boredom and economic decline.

Ms Burney on Sunday said the government was committed to supporting Wadeye and it needed better governance.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“I urge everyone in the community to stop the violence and bring peace back to Wadeye,” she said. “The Australian government is committed to supporting the local community and working with them and the NT government to find sustainable solutions to the many entrenched long-term problems.

“The local community needs support to develop better governance structures and change community norms. In close partnership with the NT government, we have helped establish the Mediation Engagement Group.” She said support was being given to families in Wadeye displaced by unrest in the town, and the government recognised the housing crisis in remote communities. “Overcrowding remains a huge problem for many remote communities, and in Wadeye overcrowding has contributed to already high social tensions. Labor is fully committed to investing $100m in housing and ­essential services in the homelands.”

Federal Labor MP for the outback NT seat of Lingiari Marion Scrymgour said the problems were deep-seated and complex and needed a careful response.

“That funeral (of the deceased young man) is coming up, and I think things will escalate again,” she said. “I know there are issues in Maningrida and some of the other communities, too.”

Ms Scrymgour suggested re­introducing a system of permits, enforced under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, to give traditional owners the power to evict individuals or families who were causing problems in larger towns.

“If the traditional owners don’t want a group that’s causing a lot of problems, they could direct the Northern Land Council to act on their behalf,” she said.

She said there would need to be exemptions for media and other organisations.

A spokeswoman for NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the issues in Wadeye were “deeply entrenched cultural differences and conflict”.

“It won’t be fixed overnight,” she said. “There’s been a cross-­department response to the issues in Wadeye and as a government, we are supportive of police ­actions as a part of what is a very complex situation.

“We will continue to offer support to the community through a multi-department welfare response to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Wadeye residents.”

It comes as federal Liberal MP Julian Leeser reanimated concerns about the NT government’s decision to let alcohol restrictions lapse in some communities. “The latest decision by the NT government should be of concern to every Australian and why Prime Minister Albanese should intervene,” he said.

“The decision to require an opt-in to continue alcohol restrictions is supposedly driven by human rights principles, but this decision does nothing to provide protection for the people that need it most.

“The most vulnerable in those communities, men, women, and children, will be the most affected by the rushed way in which the transition from post-intervention alcohol restrictions in communities is being managed.”

Blanket alcohol bans imposed as part of the Howard government’s NT Emergency Response expired with federal Labor’s Stronger Futures legislation on July 17. Pre-existing bans will be back into force in many places, but some will have no alcohol restrictions unless they decide to opt-in to new ones.