Aboriginal Payback Out of Control

Young men lead a 'Stop the Violence' March in Alice Springs in September

Cultural practices in Central Australia such as payback are being used as an excuse for endless fueds between individuals and groups of men which result in shocking violence. There were 455 violent assaults in the first three months of this year and assaults in and around Alice Springs have doubled.

Bob Durnan who has been working in the area for 33 years said "Young fellas who drink get all fired up about the need to avenge some real or imagined slight or sorcery and go and assault and stab people who are trying to lead a normal life. A lot of them are in jail and there's quite a few in the cemetery."

Chairwoman of the Northern Territory government Indigenous Affairs explains next-of-kin payback. "If they don't find the right person they want to carry out the payback on, they go for the next person who can be your sister, brother, uncle, niece or nephew. It just happens out of the blue and you can be the unlucky person in the wrong place at the wrong time".

One Aboriginal woman said "Payback now is more revenge, more of who is going to be the dominant family. Don't tell me that it's the Aboriginal way because that's rubbish".

The recent riots in Yuendumu were about payback. Terrified people fled in cars and buses to Adelaide to escape the violence. They are now returning to their community and attempts are being made to try and stop it. Suicide was unknown in Aboriginal society 50 years ago but it is now included as part of payback. Now threats of suicide are being used as a method of extortion or bullying, some young people are actually threatening to commit suicide if they don't get what they want - money.

John Liddle, Manager of the Ingkintja Men's Health Centre said "We are all sick and tired of going to funerals, sick and tired of sorry business. People are constantly in a sorry state". Central to the 'Stop the Violence' campaign is the Inteyerrkwe statement from 2008 which apologises to Aboriginal women and families for the harm caused by men's violence, usually fuelled by alcohol. It says "We the Aboriginal males of Central Australia .... acknowledge and say sorry for the hurt, pain and suffering caused by Aboriginal males to our wives, our children, our mothers and grandmothers, our aunties, our nieces and our sisters. We also acknowledge that we need the love and support of our Aboriginal women to help us move forward."

But Aboriginal women haven't been reporting the violence because they are terrified that Welfare will come and take their children into care. One can only imagine what this is teaching the next generation. As usual, no one has any answers.