A remote community 400km Southwest of Darwin, Wadeye, is seeing violence being played out in the streets after a man was reportedly speared in the head and died in February this year.
The large police presence in the region has done little to stop the violence or ease tensions.
With a population of 4000 and 22 clan groups living in close quarters with tension amongst the groups, it has forced many to flee. Large groups of men are seen fighting in the streets, men standing in front of burning buildings, with 37 homes torched, leaving more than 10 people homeless from each home
Estimates are that 500 people are homeless.
NT Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has released a statement. “Women and children have been forced to flee into the bush with nothing. They need shelter, food, sanitation, and medication. It is unacceptable that 100’s are forced out of town into surrounding homelands and bush camps.”
The Northern Land Council (NLC) also released a statement.
“The NLC has provided more than $100,000 in aid for temporary accommodation, food, and personal hygiene products. The government has a clear law and order responsibility. The answers lie in more support for homelands as well as (the) opportunity for mediation of family disputes before they escalate to intra-family violence.”
