A WAGGA solicitor has implored the community to look at the cause, rather than the effect, of the Indigenous youth crime epidemic plaguing the city.
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Graham Burmeister, a veteran solicitor who has received Rotary’s two highest honours, said while he could understand the anger of victims, the crime wave would not subside without a whole-of-community approach.
His comments coincide with the release of damning figures that show despite making up less than 5 per cent of the population, Indigenous locals accounted for almost half the legal actions against juveniles from 2011 to 2014.
Mr Burmeister said the way communities treated their Aboriginal residents had a profound impact on offence rates.
“You have to ask yourself why in racist towns like Narrandera and Moree, where Aboriginal people have been treated like pigs, they have these crime problems,” he said.
“They can’t get a job because no one is prepared to give them a shot.
“A lot of the young offenders in Wagga come from dysfunctional families so we can’t be surprised some turn to crime.”
He said if employers had a more open mind about hiring young Indigenous workers “the community would profit”.
Wagga Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Lorraine Lyons last week said many young Indigenous locals were bereft in a sea of aimlessness and claimed programs teaching them respect for their culture and country could help arrest their slide into a life of crime.
Wagga PCYC manager Blake Dunn has regular contact with at-risk Indigenous youth.
A proud Wiradjuri man himself, Mr Dunn said issues of crime and anti-social behaviour were often complex and deeply embedded in a teen’s family and personal history.
“There are issues unique to Aboriginal people because of what’s happened over hundreds of years,” Mr Dunn said.
“I remember as a young bloke growing up in Dubbo and every time you went into a shop you would be watched closely because you had a darker skin.
“My grandfather wasn’t even allowed to go to school.”
He said the ugly face of racism also had an impact.
“When the whole Adam Goodes thing occurred, people were saying some disgraceful things on social media,” Mr Dunn said.
“These kids are living this day in, day out.”
