TO SERVE THE NATIONAL CITY AND THROUGH IT THE NATION - Look to future for Palm Island.

(From Canberra Times)

T HE QUEENSLAND Premier, Peter Beattie, probably means well with his latest round of tough talk about dealing with the problems of Palm Island, but no-one should get their hopes up that he really means anything much to change. He has talked tough in Aboriginal communities, even on Palm Island, before. He has used most of the right formulae - about the people of the community taking charge of their own affairs and dealing properly with their problems, and about the importance of service and infrastructure, and the wicked waste which occurs when communities trash their own facilities. He has been uncompromising too in his broad support of police, though he probably privately thinks that they made a colossal misjudgment of the situation which led to the latest riot, the destruction of considerable community property, serious threats to police and their families and yet another police-inspired complete withdrawal of government services, …