Riots

THERE is little doubt that if it had been two aboriginal teenagers whohad died in the police pursuit at Macquarie Fields the political andmedia response would have been entirely different.Redfern lessons not learnt, the pundits would have screamed. Seriousquestions would have been raised about the conduct of the police.Calls would have gone up for a review of car pursuit tactics. As theCarr government scuttled for cover once again, a major governmentinquiry would have been announced. The government would get theanswers, and the absolution, it wanted. Police would once again beordered to undergo cultural sensitivity training.None of this, of course, actually occurred - because these kids were``poor white trash'', not ``poor black trash''. They had nopolitically correct cache at all.Ask yourself one question: where were the Left?The Socialist Alliance, the Green Left Weekly, and many others with adrum to beat were all part of the subsequent Redfern demonstrationsand unrest, exacerbating the sense of grievance. Newspapers includingthe Sydney Morning Herald fell over backwards to paint a sympatheticportrait of social disadvantage on the Block.It took about ten days, long after the rioting had died down, for LeeRhiannon and the Greens to put in appearance. They talked zealously ofover-policing, of lack of services, lack of employment, lack oftransport and inappropriate houising. Nobody could have cared less.What had gripped the city was the scene, last seen in Redfern, ofyouths lined up against police and missiles flying everywhere.While TJ Hickey, 17, who no one even bothers to pretend was a saint,has been lioinised in inner-city Redfern as a symbol of disadvantageand injustice; on the other side of the city no such fate awaited ashy white boy who loved his football. Dylan Rayward, also 17, was
of Glenquarie at Macquarie Fields because he didn\'t drink or smoke.His peers spoken of him respect as someone who "had a future". Butthere will be no BBC documentaries for Dylan.Dylan\'s death, along with that of Matt Robertson, 19, triggered fivenights of rioting and a 12 day police hunt for the alleged driver ofthe vehicle, Jesse Kelly, 20.While teary adolescents gathered at the tree where the two boys diedand the nightly news was filled with scenes of riot police facingprotestors, of bricks, bottles and molatov cocktails being thrown, thepoliticiansattempted to outdo each other as they beat the law and order drum.Prime Minister John Howard backed the police ``150 per cent\'\',outdoing the NSW Premier Bob Carr, who only backed them 100 per cent.Opposition leader John Brogden repeatedly critised the police and thestate government for their softly softly approach. As far as he wasconcerned a full-scale crackdown on the first night would have solvedthe problem.None of them expressed anything but passing sympathy for the two dead youngmen, Dylan and Matt, their family, or theirfriends.Yet these kids lives on a public housing estate had been taxpayerfunded, as had their deaths during a police chase. Their entire liveshad been dictated by the policies of the politicians now so ready tocondemn them.I covered as a reporter both the Redfern riots and the problems atMacquarie Fields. There were very clear similarities and very cleardifferences between the two.The riots at Redfern following the death of Thomas ``TJ\'\' lasted onenight and were fuelled by alcohol as much as by grief.At Macquarie Fields the riots stretched over a week andwere fuelled by far more than just alcohol.Unlike the politicians or the ruthless sentiment on talkback radio, anumber of reporters felt instinctively that this was a ``faultline\'\'",1]
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regarded with astonishment on his own depressed public housing estateof Glenquarie at Macquarie Fields because he didn't drink or smoke.His peers spoken of him respect as someone who "had a future". Butthere will be no BBC documentaries for Dylan.Dylan's death, along with that of Matt Robertson, 19, triggered fivenights of rioting and a 12 day police hunt for the alleged driver ofthe vehicle, Jesse Kelly, 20.While teary adolescents gathered at the tree where the two boys diedand the nightly news was filled with scenes of riot police facingprotestors, of bricks, bottles and molatov cocktails being thrown, thepoliticiansattempted to outdo each other as they beat the law and order drum.Prime Minister John Howard backed the police ``150 per cent'',outdoing the NSW Premier Bob Carr, who only backed them 100 per cent.Opposition leader John Brogden repeatedly critised the police and thestate government for their softly softly approach. As far as he wasconcerned a full-scale crackdown on the first night would have solvedthe problem.None of them expressed anything but passing sympathy for the two dead youngmen, Dylan and Matt, their family, or theirfriends.Yet these kids lives on a public housing estate had been taxpayerfunded, as had their deaths during a police chase. Their entire liveshad been dictated by the policies of the politicians now so ready tocondemn them.I covered as a reporter both the Redfern riots and the problems atMacquarie Fields. There were very clear similarities and very cleardifferences between the two.The riots at Redfern following the death of Thomas ``TJ'' lasted onenight and were fuelled by alcohol as much as by grief.At Macquarie Fields the riots stretched over a week andwere fuelled by far more than just alcohol.Unlike the politicians or the ruthless sentiment on talkback radio, anumber of reporters felt instinctively that this was a ``faultline''
such incidents; that the Lucky Country really was only lucky for some,that the so-called booming economy had barely touched many. In someways this was like the first story falling off the end of a conveyerbelt. There are bored, keyed up, restless, unemployed youth everywhereon the public housing estates of Ayrds, Minto, Claymore, Glenquarieand across the city, including Redfern, these children who were toinherit the earth after decades of progressive policies.One of the reasons the talk-back coverage was so vicious on theMacquarie Fields riots is that for many of the working poor thenew prosperity of Australia doesn\'t mean much but the chance to sit intraffic and work all day in an eternally frustrating grind; to paymultiple taxes for a vast government bureaucracy and political andjudicial system which improves theirlives barely a jot if at all.The conduct of the denizens of Macquarie Fields went from a griefstricken group wanting to tell their story and vent their outrage tohostile, foul-mouthed and abusive. This was not a group which wassophisticated enough to use the media or sense when they might besympathetic.Many reporters were emotionally moved by the cards, flowers and totemsthat were placed at the scene of the two boys deaths - the cigarettestaped to to the tree, the undrunk can of Woodstock Bourbon and Coke,the many messages of grief, ``RIP Boys, see ya on the other side\'\'.One newspaper reporter who covered the riots said: "There were little17 year olds crying at the tree where theboys died. The whole community was really emotional. The vast majoritybelieved the police pushed the situation too far. It was obvioius thattensions have been simmering for quite some time. The car crash wassimply the precipitating event. The boys just feel totally powerless.They have no voice. Everyone calls them criminals, that may be true,",1]
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type story, that this was the beginning of what was likely to be moresuch incidents; that the Lucky Country really was only lucky for some,that the so-called booming economy had barely touched many. In someways this was like the first story falling off the end of a conveyerbelt. There are bored, keyed up, restless, unemployed youth everywhereon the public housing estates of Ayrds, Minto, Claymore, Glenquarieand across the city, including Redfern, these children who were toinherit the earth after decades of progressive policies.One of the reasons the talk-back coverage was so vicious on theMacquarie Fields riots is that for many of the working poor thenew prosperity of Australia doesn't mean much but the chance to sit intraffic and work all day in an eternally frustrating grind; to paymultiple taxes for a vast government bureaucracy and political andjudicial system which improves theirlives barely a jot if at all.The conduct of the denizens of Macquarie Fields went from a griefstricken group wanting to tell their story and vent their outrage tohostile, foul-mouthed and abusive. This was not a group which wassophisticated enough to use the media or sense when they might besympathetic.Many reporters were emotionally moved by the cards, flowers and totemsthat were placed at the scene of the two boys deaths - the cigarettestaped to to the tree, the undrunk can of Woodstock Bourbon and Coke,the many messages of grief, ``RIP Boys, see ya on the other side''.One newspaper reporter who covered the riots said: "There were little17 year olds crying at the tree where theboys died. The whole community was really emotional. The vast majoritybelieved the police pushed the situation too far. It was obvioius thattensions have been simmering for quite some time. The car crash wassimply the precipitating event. The boys just feel totally powerless.They have no voice. Everyone calls them criminals, that may be true,
charming to me. They let me into their lives. Just because they stolecars didn\'t mean they were bad people. A lot of them were very youngand very proud parents. They had a lot of good qualities, and a lot ofgenuine care for their kids and how they were going to bring themup.\'\'Phil Black, a reporter at Channel Seven, said the public simply don\'tunderstand whatthe feeling is in these neighbourhoods, andparticularly what drives it, why they are so angry and disaffected asthey are. ``I don\'t think the guys do themselves any favours Itis easy to sympathise. but when we become the targets, bottles andabuse, it is difficult for that sympathy to take too much of a hold. Ithink it is generational. A lot has been said about poorneighbourhoods like this being concentrated areas of underprivilege,and all the social problems sprout from this, but these aremulti-generational hotspots for people who are angry and disaffected.Over generations people are becoming alienated. These are areas whereEducatiom,. resources and opportunities are lacking."Over time, an us and them mentality develops. These communities develop closeconnections between each other. there is a strong sense of community.they tend to look at others as outsiders. They are sheeting blametowards the police and the media for their situation. The classicexample, is they would throw bottles, rocks and abuse, and then turnaround and say: `I hope you guys are going to make us look good\'. Theyaccuse us of not having told their story, of not capturing how theyfeel and why and misrepresenting the facts, but ultimately, thepictures of them throwing bottles, it\'s hard to misrepresent that."It is obviously a very complex problem. Politicians are kiddinghtemselves if they don\'t think social propblems are not behind thislevel of anger and disaffecting. They say it is possible to rise aboveyour circumstances, but as theose circumstances become tougher over",1]
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but they were very kind, verycharming to me. They let me into their lives. Just because they stolecars didn't mean they were bad people. A lot of them were very youngand very proud parents. They had a lot of good qualities, and a lot ofgenuine care for their kids and how they were going to bring themup.''Phil Black, a reporter at Channel Seven, said the public simply don'tunderstand whatthe feeling is in these neighbourhoods, andparticularly what drives it, why they are so angry and disaffected asthey are. ``I don't think the guys do themselves any favours Itis easy to sympathise. but when we become the targets, bottles andabuse, it is difficult for that sympathy to take too much of a hold. Ithink it is generational. A lot has been said about poorneighbourhoods like this being concentrated areas of underprivilege,and all the social problems sprout from this, but these aremulti-generational hotspots for people who are angry and disaffected.Over generations people are becoming alienated. These are areas whereEducatiom,. resources and opportunities are lacking."Over time, an us and them mentality develops. These communities develop closeconnections between each other. there is a strong sense of community.they tend to look at others as outsiders. They are sheeting blametowards the police and the media for their situation. The classicexample, is they would throw bottles, rocks and abuse, and then turnaround and say: `I hope you guys are going to make us look good'. Theyaccuse us of not having told their story, of not capturing how theyfeel and why and misrepresenting the facts, but ultimately, thepictures of them throwing bottles, it's hard to misrepresent that."It is obviously a very complex problem. Politicians are kiddinghtemselves if they don't think social propblems are not behind thislevel of anger and disaffecting. They say it is possible to rise aboveyour circumstances, but as theose circumstances become tougher over
If any of the reporters bothered to turn on talk-back radio theycopped a chilling contrast between what they had witnessed on thestreets and what was filling the airwaves. John Law\'s at 2UE calledthem "louts" and suggested to one caller who claimed to be friends ofthe pair who had died that she was either "stupid or as bad as theyare" and suggested she should get new friends. He dismissed thegraffiti littering the suburb - "Cops Kill Kids" - painted on streets,pavements and walls, as "incredible".Over at 2GB, Ray Hadley ran hot on the Macquarie Fields riots from thebeginning. He said the majority of residents were law abiding and KenMaroney and Carl Scully needed to remove unwanted criminals from thatenvironment. Hadley said that at the end of the day people needed totake responsibility instead of the rubbish, "I live at MacquarieFields, I have no hope", it should not be an impediment. One woman,representative of many, said they should get off their bums and dosomething with themselves.Australia\'s number one talkback host Alan Jones spoke of theineptitude of decision makers which had left front line policeenduring a "disgusting state of affairs" as they were pelted withrocks, bricks and bombs night after night. "We can do without theKleenex tissues and the bleeding hearts," he said, labelling peoplesuch as the fugitive driver Kelly as "criminals". He urged the policeto "toughen up and clean up".Senior political reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald Paola Totarosaid she had felt throughout the week that the response wassimplistic. "My view from thebeginning, there was Carr, and Moroney, and they are speaking from acompletely different generation, a generation that may have grown up indisadvantage, but they weren\'t subjected to the same pressures that",1]
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generations, it becomes even harder still to rise above those circumstances.''If any of the reporters bothered to turn on talk-back radio theycopped a chilling contrast between what they had witnessed on thestreets and what was filling the airwaves. John Law's at 2UE calledthem "louts" and suggested to one caller who claimed to be friends ofthe pair who had died that she was either "stupid or as bad as theyare" and suggested she should get new friends. He dismissed thegraffiti littering the suburb - "Cops Kill Kids" - painted on streets,pavements and walls, as "incredible".Over at 2GB, Ray Hadley ran hot on the Macquarie Fields riots from thebeginning. He said the majority of residents were law abiding and KenMaroney and Carl Scully needed to remove unwanted criminals from thatenvironment. Hadley said that at the end of the day people needed totake responsibility instead of the rubbish, "I live at MacquarieFields, I have no hope", it should not be an impediment. One woman,representative of many, said they should get off their bums and dosomething with themselves.Australia's number one talkback host Alan Jones spoke of theineptitude of decision makers which had left front line policeenduring a "disgusting state of affairs" as they were pelted withrocks, bricks and bombs night after night. "We can do without theKleenex tissues and the bleeding hearts," he said, labelling peoplesuch as the fugitive driver Kelly as "criminals". He urged the policeto "toughen up and clean up".Senior political reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald Paola Totarosaid she had felt throughout the week that the response wassimplistic. "My view from thebeginning, there was Carr, and Moroney, and they are speaking from acompletely different generation, a generation that may have grown up indisadvantage, but they weren't subjected to the same pressures that
often unemployed and second generation unemployed. The personalresponsibility answers of the politicians and the various leaders wasnot only simplistic but idiotic, to be honest. They are white men whohave reached the peak of their careers, whowere teenagers 40 or more years ago."The world has changed. We had to inject some intelligence andanalysis, and more importantly compassion, in to our coverage of what hashappened and why."The talk back commentators are white middle class men, again at thepeak of their careers and the peak of their earning powers. They havecompletely lost sight of the lives of many of the battlers theypurport to represent."The deaths of very few of us will provoke such civil unrest, or begreeted with such genuine grief, as did the deaths of these two youngmen in a stolen car very late one Friiday night on one of the city\'smost depressed housing estates; Dylan Rayward, 17 and Matt Robertson,19.Dylan\'s body was carried through an honour guard of youngfootball players from the Ashton Junior Rugby League team fromLiverpool where he trained. His No 13 Jersey was laid on the coffin.As sobs from more than 200 friends, family and locals were heardthroughout the chapel, three of Dylan\'s football coaches gave movingtestimony to the boy\'s talents as a player and qualities as a person.The family, some of whom had been let out of jail especially to attendthe funeral, sat at the front of the chapel, holding on to each otherasthey frequently burst into tears.These were the ``criminals\'\' so roundly condemned.",0]
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this generation has; of parents who are alcohol and drug affected;often unemployed and second generation unemployed. The personalresponsibility answers of the politicians and the various leaders wasnot only simplistic but idiotic, to be honest. They are white men whohave reached the peak of their careers, whowere teenagers 40 or more years ago."The world has changed. We had to inject some intelligence andanalysis, and more importantly compassion, in to our coverage of what hashappened and why."The talk back commentators are white middle class men, again at thepeak of their careers and the peak of their earning powers. They havecompletely lost sight of the lives of many of the battlers theypurport to represent."The deaths of very few of us will provoke such civil unrest, or begreeted with such genuine grief, as did the deaths of these two youngmen in a stolen car very late one Friiday night on one of the city'smost depressed housing estates; Dylan Rayward, 17 and Matt Robertson,19.Dylan's body was carried through an honour guard of youngfootball players from the Ashton Junior Rugby League team fromLiverpool where he trained. His No 13 Jersey was laid on the coffin.As sobs from more than 200 friends, family and locals were heardthroughout the chapel, three of Dylan's football coaches gave movingtestimony to the boy's talents as a player and qualities as a person.The family, some of whom had been let out of jail especially to attendthe funeral, sat at the front of the chapel, holding on to each otherasthey frequently burst into tears.These were the ``criminals'' so roundly condemned.