Distance Marrickville – South Sydney ≈ 5 km

16/02/2004

Emeutes dans un quartier aborigène de Sydney: 40 policiers blessés

04:36

SYDNEY (AP) - Des membres d'une communauté aborigène d'un quartier défavorisé du centre de Sydney s'en sont pris lundi aux policiers australiens qu'ils ont attaqués à coups de briques et de cocktails molotov. Quarante policiers ont été blessés lors de cette émeute de neuf heures survenue au lendemain du décès d'un jeune adolescent du quartier.

Les émeutiers aborigènes accusent la police d'avoir provoqué la mort d'un jeune aborigène âgé de 17 ans, Thomas Hickey, vivant dans le quartier Redfern de Sydney. Selon sa mère, l'adolescent était poursuivi dimanche par la police. C'est alors qu'il serait tombé de son vélo et se serait empalé sur une barrière. Cette version est démentie par la police.

Dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi, des dizaines d'Aborigènes ont incendié une gare ferroviaire, et les violences ont continué lundi matin.

Des centaines de policiers munis de lances à eau ont arrosé les émeutiers lors des affrontements. Quarante policiers ont été blessés, et la plupart des hommes hospitalisés souffrent de fractures.

Quatre émeutiers présumés ont été arrêtés et accusés d'avoir participé aux affrontements. Selon les responsables des forces de police, d’autres émeutiers ont été identifiés et devraient être arrêtés dans la journée.

Une enquête doit être ouverte sur les circonstances du décès du jeune aborigène et l'éventuelle implication de la police. AP

kb/v48

© AP - The Associated Press. Tous droits réservés. 

Emeutes à Sydney après la mort d'un jeune aborigène

16 février 07:25:23

par Michael Perry

SYDNEY - De violents incidents ont éclaté dimanche soir dans un ghetto de Sydney après la mort accidentelle d'un jeune aborigène imputée à des policiers par sa mère.

Pendant près de neuf heures, une centaine d'aborigènes ont affronté les forces de l'ordre à coups de briques et de bouteilles à l'intérieur du "Block", un ghetto aborigène qui s'étend sur quelques rues situées près de la gare de Redfern, à quelques kilomètres du centre d'affaires de Sydney.

Un incendie s'est déclaré dans la station de Redfern, une voiture a été détruite par les flammes et plusieurs vitrines brisées lors de ces émeutes urbaines.  

Selon le commissaire adjoint Bob Waites, les émeutiers ont lancé des pierres, des briques et des bouteilles de verre sur les rangs des forces de l'ordre.

Quelque 200 policiers avaient été déployés dans le ghetto pour tenter de mettre fin aux violences. Une cinquantaine d'entre eux ont été blessés, dont huit se trouvaient toujours à l'hôpital lundi matin.  

Cinq émeutiers ont été arrêtés pendant ou après les affrontements. On ne dispose en revanche d'aucune information sur d'éventuelles victimes parmi les habitants du quartier.

Ces violences ont éclaté après la mort d'un adolescent de 17 ans, Thomas Hickey, qui a chuté samedi de son vélo et s'est empalé sur une barrière métallique. Le jeune homme a succombé dimanche à ses blessures.  

DES AFFICHES "TUEURS D'ENFANT"

Sa mère a affirmé qu'il avait été accidenté alors qu'il était poursuivi par des policiers. La police a démenti être à l'origine du décès, expliquant que des policiers en patrouille avaient seulement dépassé le jeune homme, qui aurait alors accéléré brutalement et perdu l'équilibre.

"Comment un garçon de 17 ans peut-il finir sur une clôture ? La police a tué mon fils", a-t-elle dit à une station de radio locale.

Des affiches reproduisant les photographies de trois policiers barrées de la mention "Tueurs d'enfant" sont apparues sur les murs autour de la gare de Redfern après la mort de Thomas Hickey.

"The Block", lieu de trafics en tout genre, est un quartier interdit dans les faits à la population blanche de Sydney. L'entrée ressemble à un check-point militaire, avec des cubes de béton et des fils barbelés. Il est le théâtre de fréquents incidents avec la police.

Le Premier ministre de l'Etat de Nouvelle-Galles-du-Sud, Bob Carr, a lancé un appel au calme. "Il y aura une enquête indépendante sur la mort tragique de ce jeune homme", a-t-il promis.

Mais le chef de file de l'opposition locale, John Brogden, a réclamé que le ghetto soit rasé.

La communauté aborigène est la plus défavorisée du pays. Elle présente les taux les plus élevés de chômage, de violences conjugales, d'emprisonnement,... L'espérance moyenne de vie de ses membres est de vingt ans inférieure à la moyenne nationale.

Aborigines riot after death of teen

Associated Press

POSTED AT 10:18 AM EST  

Monday, Feb. 16, 2004

Sydney , Australia — Rioters set fire to a train station and pelted police with gasoline bombs in an Aborigine ghetto in Sydney on Monday during a nine-hour street battle that began after a teenager died, allegedly while being chased by officers.

The overnight rioting in the Redfern neighbourhood of Australia 's most populous city left 40 officers injured and highlighted continuing tensions between authorities and the nation's original inhabitants.

The street battle earlier Monday followed the death of a 17-year-old Aborigine, Thomas Hickey, who was impaled on a fence when he fell from his bicycle. His mother said officers were chasing the teen, an allegation that police deny.

“It's got to stop, the way they treat our kids,” Gail Hickey said. “They treat our kids like dogs ... they manhandle them.”

Hundreds of police in full riot gear doused rioters with high-pressure water hoses during the fighting.

The injured police officers mostly suffered broken bones, and one was knocked out after being hit by a flying brick. All but one had been released by Monday afternoon. There was no immediate word on injuries to rioters.

Four people were arrested and charged with involvement in the fighting. Assistant police commissioner Bob Waites said police had identified other suspected rioters and expect to make more arrests in coming days.

On Monday night, a small group of Aborigines watched by a handful of police officers was gathered at the scene of the riot, but there was no sign of trouble.

New South Wales Premier Bob Carr ordered an investigation into the cause of the riot and said the state coroner would probe Mr. Hickey's death and any possible police involvement.

In the overnight rioting, about 100 attackers set fire to Redfern railway station, torched a car and smashed windows.

“They burned out one vehicle, and they in fact were throwing Molotov cocktails both at police and at Redfern railway station during the course of the riot,” Mr. Waites said.

Television images showed young men surrounding a police patrol car and slamming it with bricks. It was not clear if there were officers in the car at the time.

Mr. Waites said rioters stockpiled garbage bins full of paving stones and beer bottles to throw at police.

Aboriginal community leader Lyle Munro said anger in the community had been simmering long before Mr. Hickey's death.

“These young people are very, very upset about what happened to this young man, and they're very upset about what's happening to their young friends on a continual basis,” Mr. Munro told Sydney radio station 2UE. “It was a preventable death, like most of the deaths of young aboriginal people today.”

Mr. Munro accused police of harassing people who live in a squalid grid of near-derelict houses known as “The Block.”

“This is an everyday occurrence — the harassment and intimidation of our young people,” he said. “You could interview every aboriginal kid down there that comes from The Block, that comes from this area in Redfern in particular, and the majority will tell you to your face ... that they've all been bashed by the police.”

Aborigines make up 400,000 of Australia 's 20 million people. They are the poorest and most imprisoned members of society.

The houses in The Block were bought for Aborigines in the 1970s with a grant from the federal government in an attempt to alleviate homelessness and other social problems among Sydney 's aboriginal population.

The streets quickly degenerated, however, into a garbage-strewn slum with high crime and drug-abuse rates. Authorities are now redeveloping the area, but its social problems remain.

State opposition leader John Brogden said he would knock down The Block if he were in power.

“The fact that 40 or 50 police were injured whilst they stood there and copped it from young aboriginal thugs and others is an unacceptable position going forward,” Mr. Brogden said. “I'd bring the bulldozers in, because I think allowing this to happen every couple of years, which is what's going to happen, will never fix the problem.”

Emeutes après la mort d'un jeune en Australie

Une quarantaine de policiers ont été blessés lors d'affrontements avec des Aborigènes.

Par Jean-Dominique MERCHET

mardi 17 février 2004

Sydney a été le théâtre, dimanche soir, d'émeutes raciales, à la suite de la mort d'un garçon de 17 ans. Une quarantaine de policiers ont été blessés au cours des affrontements avec les jeunes d'un ghetto aborigène.

Samedi, Thomas «TJ» Hickey s'était blessé mortellement, en s'empalant sur une grille, à la suite d'une chute de vélo. Selon sa mère et de nombreux Aborigènes du quartier de Redfern, «TJ» était poursuivi par une patrouille de police. Les policiers ont catégoriquement démenti cette version des faits, affirmant qu'il n'avait jamais été pris en chasse, parlant de «désinformation et d'intoxication». Le gouvernement de l'Etat des Nouvelles-Galles-du-Sud a ordonné une enquête pour établir les faits. Thomas Hickey était recherché par la police pour une affaire de vol et, selon des témoignages recueillis par la presse, il aurait pris peur en voyant le véhicule de police. Le compagnon et trois frères de sa mère sont déjà en prison.

«Cette étincelle a mis le feu à la poudrière raciale», écrivait hier le quotidien The Australian. Dimanche soir et pendant neuf heures, plus d'une centaine de jeunes s'en sont pris aux forces de police, à coups de cocktail Molotov et de pierres. De nombreux policiers ont été blessés et cinq émeutiers arrêtés. Le Premier ministre de l'Etat, Bob Carr, a estimé que «la chaleur et l'alcool ont joué un rôle important» dans ces violences.

A Sydney, les esprits sont en effet échauffés. John Brogden, le leader de l'opposition, s'en est pris aux «voyous aborigènes» et a proposé de raser une partie du quartier, surnommé le «Block», à coups de bulldozer. De son côté, un responsable de la communauté aborigène, Lyle Munro, affirmait : «Si les enfants de Palestine combattent les chars avec des frondes, nos enfants peuvent faire la même chose. »

Le quartier de Redfern est l'un des points les plus sensibles de Sydney, où les affrontements avec la police sont fréquents. Lieu de tous les trafics, le «Block» est un quartier interdit dans les faits à la population blanche de Sydney.

Ce «lieu de démolition, d'aliénation et de dégradation», selon le quotidien The Age, est également «l'épicentre de la culture aborigène». Les 400 000 Aborigènes représentent moins de 2 % de la population du pays et forment une communauté largement marginalisée.

Aborigines riot in downtown Sydney

2004-02-17 / Reuters / 

Aborigines rioted in a black ghetto near the center of Australia 's largest city, Sydney , until early yesterday over the death of a teenage boy, hurling Molotov cocktails and bricks at police in a nine-hour battle.

About 40 police were injured, many with broken bones, in one of the worst outbreaks of civil unrest in the city in a decade. Relatives blamed police for the boy's death.

New South Wales state premier Bob Carr called for calm and police reinforcements were brought in, ready for any repeat.

About 100 Aborigines in Redfern, an inner-city suburb that is home to a notorious Aboriginal area called "The Block," attacked 200 riot police on Sunday night and yesterday morning.

The riot was triggered by the death of Aborigine Thomas Hickey, 17, who was impaled on a metal fence after falling from his bicycle on Saturday. He died in hospital on Sunday morning.

His mother, Gail, said her son was injured while being pursued by police. Police say patrolling officers merely passed by the boy who then sped off, losing control of his bike.

"A brave stance was taken here last night and that stand will continue while ever our community is ostracized and intimidated and traumatized by the racist police of NSW," said Lyall Munro, an Aboriginal elder in Redfern and long-time black activist.

Carr extended his condolences to Gail Hickey. "There will be an independent investigation into the tragic death of a young man."

Protesters, some bare-chested with T-shirts wrapped around their faces, pelted lines of riot police with bricks and bottles, and at one stage pushed a burning garbage bin on wheels towards police and set off fireworks among them.

"They were throwing Molotov cocktails both at police and at Redfern railway station during the course of the riot," assistant police commissioner Bob Waites said.

Waites said rioters had eight garbage bins loaded with paving bricks to be used as missiles and large tubs of beer bottles.

It took nine hours to bring the rioters under control and about 40 police were injured. Eight police remained in hospital yesterday.

Five people were arrested either during or after the riot, but it was not clear how many Aborigines were injured.

"My 17-year-old boy was just coming down to get money off his mother and then these dogs...end up killing my son," Gail Hickey said of the police. "How does a...17-year-old boy end up on the...fence? The police...killed my son."

"The Block" is a ghetto of a few streets of dilapidated houses, some abandoned, smeared with graffiti and occupied by junkies, a few kilometers from Sydney 's central business district.

Tue 17 Feb 2004

1:40am (UK)
Calm Returns to Riot-Hit Sydney Ghetto

"PA"

Calm returned to a troubled Aboriginal ghetto near central Sydney today after indigenous leaders urged an end to riots that left 40 police injured.

Claims that police chased a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy to his death over the weekend sparked a nine-hour rampage by scores of mostly Aboriginal teenagers that ended yesterday morning.

Police deny involvement in Thomas Hickey’s death and said officers tried to save the youngster’s life after he fell off his bicycle and became impaled on a metal fence on Saturday.

A coroner will investigate the death and police are holding an internal investigating into their role in the death.

Watched by a small group of police, Aborigines held a barbecue last night and occasionally taunted the officers, but there was no repeat of the rioting.

At the height of the violence, Aborigines pelted police with petrol bombs, bricks and bottles and torched two cars and part of a railway station. Forty police were injured. There were no reports of injuries to the rioters.

Police arrested five people suspected of taking part in the violence.

Local Aboriginal elder Shane Phillips, 39, said a sombre mood had descended on the notorious slum known as “The Block” where the rioting broke out.

“These kids, they have seen something like this happen, and they feel a huge sense of injustice,” he said. “What people need to help them with is how to deal with it so it’s not violent.”

The riot highlighted the glaring difference in living standards between most Sydney residents and the city’s impoverished Aborigines.

Aborigines make up 400,000 of Australia ’s 20 million people. They are the poorest, least healthy and most imprisoned members of society.

The Block is a tiny pocket of extreme poverty and social disintegration surrounded on all sides by affluent inner-city suburbs. It is in the process of being redeveloped by its Aboriginal owners and New South Wales state authorities, but it remains a haven for drug dealers and alcoholics and a no-go zone for people who do not live in its streets.

Yesterday, state opposition leader John Brogden called for the whole area to be knocked down.

“The fact that 40 or 50 police were injured whilst they stood there and copped it from young Aboriginal thugs and others is an unacceptable position going forward,” Mr Brogden said. “I’d bring the bulldozers in because I think allowing this to happen every couple of years, which is what’s going to happen, will never fix the problem.”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

TV PROGRAM TRANSCRIPT

Broadcast: 17/02/2004

Redfern calm after riots

Reporter:

TONY JONES: The inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern is calm as we go to air tonight after a riot last night saw police pelted with bricks and Molotov cocktails.

Fiftt officers were injured in the confrontation with more than 100 people.

The riot was sparked by the weekend death of a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy.

David Spicer reports.

DAVID SPICER: The streets of Redfern were on fire last night, as simmering anger at police conduct exploded into a riot that lasted five hours.

So many people were involved in the violence, police spent much of the night ducking for cover.

BOB WAITES, NSW POLICE: One officer was knocked out by a brick that was thrown threw the air and a number of others have got broken limbs.

DAVID SPICER: The rioters tore apart the local railway station, but police decided not to advance on the angry crowd until they'd gathered 200 officers from across Sydney .

It was not until they brought in a fire hose that the crowd dispersed at a 4:45am this morning.

Four people were arrested, but police say more charges should follow.

BOB WAITES: There was some misinformation in the community around Eveleigh Street , a fairly large consumption of alcohol during the course of the day and as the day went on they got more and more angry.

DAVID SPICER: Seventeen-year-old Thomas Hickey died on Saturday after falling from his bike and becoming impaled on a fence.

Some members of the Aboriginal community allege a police chase caused the accident.

His mother says last night's riot was a justifiable expression of anger.

GAIL HICKEY, MOTHER: Yesterday and the other day I just felt like running to the police station and just smashing the coppers and that but I said "no" I'll do it the right way, let's get it investigated and all that.  

DAVID SPICER: But police and the NSW Government say it was all a tragic mistake.

BOB CARR, NSW PREMIER: The strong advice from the police is that the police were not pursuing Thomas Hickey.

They'd passed him in their vehicle and they were pursuing someone else.

DAVID SPICER: This afternoon Aboriginal leaders convened a meeting in Redfern to call for calm.

Three separate inquiries will investigate the events surrounding the riots.

Youths stole police officer's gun
By Paola Totaro, Les Kennedy,
Connie Levett
February 18, 2004

A police officer had his own pistol held against his stomach last Thursday when he and another officer were surrounded and overpowered by a group of youths in Redfern, the NSW Parliament was told yesterday.

The claim was revealed amid debate over policing in the inner city suburb in the wake of Sunday's violent nine-hour confrontation between 200 police and 100 youths who rioted over the death of Aboriginal teenager Thomas "TJ" Hickey, the 17-year-old who was impaled on a fence while riding his bicycle.

According to a police database entry, the two officers involved in the gun confrontation called for radio help three times but on each occasion their distress call was misheard or equipment failed.

NSW Opposition Leader John Brogden said the incident showed that "Government policies and a softly, softly approach enforced on police are as much to blame as the complex problems in Redfern" and that Sunday's riot "was not simply the result of the tragic death of a young Aborigine".

Outside Parliament, he said leaked police documentation showed that in the incident on Thursday, one of the group of youths removed a Glock pistol from an officer's holster and pointed it at his stomach.

"Thank God the officer was able to retrieve his weapon before he was shot. Two police were very nearly killed and there hasn't been a word said about it by the Carr Government," he said.

Late yesterday, Police Minister John Watkins confirmed that the police were attempting to make an arrest when they were attacked by up to 15 youths. He said a struggle ensued for their firearms and a call for help was initially not understood.

However, he insisted that at no time was an officer disarmed: "The firearm was the subject of a struggle between the officer and the offender. At no time did the officer lose custody of his weapon. The weapon was out of its holster for some seconds then immediately replaced after the incident."

Meanwhile, TJ's grieving mother, Gail Hickey, has employed a private firm of lawyers to represent her at any future coroner's inquiry into the death of her son.

The youth's body is expected to be released tomorrow and will be taken to Walgett, in the state's north-west, for his funeral next week.

David Webb, a cousin of TJ, said he had sent his children away from Sydney because he feared what might happen with the police in coming days.

"It's gonna get hectic in the next few days. Everyone is taking their kids out," said Mr Webb, 32. "The TRG (tactical response group) will kick in doors, I don't want my kids around it."

Meanwhile, a team of six detectives is examining security footage to see if there is any basis to claims that TJ was being chased by police - and also to identify Sunday's rioters.

World Socialist Web Site

Australia : Police victimisation stepped up following Redfern riot

By Rick Kelly
23 February 2004

In the aftermath of the clashes between police and Aboriginal people in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Redfern on February 15, the New South Wales police force has stepped up its campaign of intimidation and provocation of the local community. The full power of the state is being brought to bear upon those accused of involvement in the confrontation.

The Redfern riot followed the death of Thomas “TJ” Hickey, the 17-year-old Aboriginal boy who was killed after he came off his bicycle and was impaled on a metal fence. Several witnesses say TJ was being chased by the police and was racing to get away from them. The explosive clash that followed his death saw approximately 200 police descend on the predominantly Aboriginal section of Redfern known as the “Block”.

In the aftermath of the confrontation, senior police officers publicly declared they would arrest all those involved. Their response dovetailed with the demands of the state government and media for a punitive crackdown. Completely absent was any consideration of the underlying social causes of the crisis, let alone sympathy for the grief felt by TJ’s family and friends.

Redfern police announced the formation of a special “strike force” that would identify and arrest all of those who had confronted the police. The first priority would be to detain the alleged “ringleaders”. Superintendent Dennis Smith said the police had identified approximately 40 people after examining hours of closed circuit TV and media footage. “Those people mainly responsible for the incident will be arrested,” Smith announced. “We have certain lines of inquiry.”

Police spokesman originally said the arrests would take place following TJ Hickey’s funeral, starting with a major raid on the “Block”. Late last week, the police strategy was changed for an even swifter and more aggressive campaign. Police have begun closely monitoring Aborigines in Redfern, and arresting suspects as soon as they step off the “Block”.

The Daily Telegraph reported on February 21 that in “a carefully planned operation,” teams of police have “bided their time and arrested suspects only after they had moved into the open”. A police source told the newspaper: “Rather than move into the centre of the Block and arrest people in front of their friends we decided on a different approach... We are going to be busy over the weekend and right through next week because we have loads of people we want to arrest.”

Among those who have been arrested already is TJ Hickey’s aunt, Marilyn Cargill. On February 20, Cargill appeared in Redfern local court on charges that included riot, affray, violent disorder and throwing a missile. Riot is one of the most serious political offences in the criminal code, and carries a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment.

The court was told that Cargill had helped to raise TJ, and that she should be granted bail to allow her to attend TJ’s funeral. The funeral service is to be held tomorrow in the boy’s hometown of Walgett, in rural New South Wales .

Yet the magistrate denied bail after the prosecutor sergeant opposed Cargill’s release, arguing that she should be detained because of her history of not appearing before court. TJ’s aunt reportedly broke down with the denial of bail. “No. No,” she pleaded. “I was going to come up there [to the funeral] myself. No, please, I can’t [go to jail]. I have got to go to the funeral.” The courtroom was cleared after Cargill’s family and supporters loudly denounced the decision.

The denial of bail for TJ’s aunt can only be understood as a deliberately callous message to the people of Redfern: a warning of the ramifications of any further resistance to the police operations. The political nature of the decision was underscored when two other men who subsequently appeared on similar charges relating to the riot were allowed bail. The men were released despite reports that both had “lengthy criminal records”.

TJ Hickey’s father has also been prevented from attending his son’s funeral. For more than a week it was reported that Ian West would be granted leave from prison to attend. On February 22, prison officials announced that West, and three of TJ’s uncles, who are also inmates, will be denied leave to attend. A Corrective Services spokesman referred to unspecified “security concerns”.

Last week, police arrested TJ’s 14-year-old girlfriend, April, following a memorial service held in the “Block”. April allegedly shouted abuse at the cops, accusing them of murder. She was charged with resisting and hindering police, as well as possession of a small quantity of cannabis. The young girl is expected to appear before Bidura Children’s Court next month.

Virginia Hickey, TJ’s aunt, strongly condemned the police actions. “This little girl is in mourning, you would think they would show a bit of sympathy,” she said. “Her mother does not care for her, her father is dead and she has just lost the only person who ever cuddled her in her life.”

There have been reports of police brutality in the arrests. Redfern community leader Lyall Munro said one man, Stanley Chadfield, had been badly hurt. “They grabbed him in a vicious stranglehold to the stage where I’m pretty sure Stan went out to it, because I was facing the police directly. In actual fact I thought they were coming for me,” Munro told ABC radio. “Now this is indicative of how these arrests are going to go on while we fear for the safety of our young people that have been identified [by the police as suspects].”

Witnesses challenge police account of TJ’s death

Another witness has come forward to refute police claims that they were not chasing TJ Hickey before his death. A female charity worker, who has chosen not to publicly identify herself, has provided statements to the Redfern Aboriginal Legal Service, testifying that she saw the police chasing TJ moments before the fatal crash.

The woman, who does not live in Redfern and did not know TJ or the Hickey family, said she heard a police siren and then saw a police paddy wagon chasing TJ through Phillip Street, which borders the park in which TJ was impaled on a metal fence.

The woman’s statement corroborates the testimony of Roy Hickey, TJ’s uncle, who had seen his nephew cut across Phillip Street at high speed, after which a police vehicle pulled up in the adjacent park. The testimony of Roy Hickey and the charity worker provides powerful evidence suggesting that the police have systematically lied and covered up their culpability for TJ’s death.

The witnesses’ testimony has only strengthened the conviction among the Redfern Aboriginal community that the police are directly responsible for TJ’s death. Residents in the “Block” are planning to march on the Redfern police station tomorrow, in a protest timed to coincide with TJ’s funeral.

Another demonstration was held last Friday by a group of Aborigines from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra . The protestors rallied outside the Australian Federal Police headquarters, condemning the ongoing police violence against indigenous people.

The police attacks on Redfern’s Aboriginal community have received the full support of both major political parties. State Liberal opposition leader John Brogden has repeated his call for the “Block” to be bulldozed and echoed federal Labor leader Mark Latham’s call for certain Aboriginal children to be removed from their families. “When it comes down to putting the best interests of the child first, then I think we have to do whatever it takes to make sure that they get a chance to break the cycle of poverty,” Brodgen declared.

State Premier Bob Carr told the ABC: “I have made it very, very clear right from the start, our full 100 percent backing for the police in Redfern—there can be no doubt about that.”

Push for redevelopment

There is increasing evidence linking the government and police response to a broader campaign to clear the Aboriginal community out of Redfern to facilitate the redevelopment of the entire area.

Redfern is very close to Sydney ’s central business district and has seen significant development in recent years. Property specialist Peter Shield told PropertyReview.com.au: “Redfern is significantly undervalued compared to nearby suburbs, yet it has so much to offer... We believe house and apartment prices in Redfern will grow by 10-12 percent over each of the next three years, and everything points to rental returns being strong.”

The Carr government has committed itself to a plan for “urban renewal” in the suburb. Delivering a lecture on Sydney ’s future development just four days after TJ Hickey’s death, Carr said the area was destined to become a part of the city’s CBD. Redfern, Carr declared, would be “an area of major commercial redevelopment, because of its proximity to the city and excellent transport facilities”.

The Labor government has actively supported the ongoing destruction of houses on the “Block” and the dispersal of the Aboriginal residents. With the active collaboration of the Aboriginal Housing Company, which owns most of the property on the “Block”, the government has presided over the destruction of 68 of its original 91 houses. None of the decaying and dilapidated properties on the “Block” has had any repairs or maintenance work done for years.

The actions of the police and the government in the wake of TJ Hickey’s death have a definite economic logic. The fact is that the drive for the profitable “development” of Redfern is fundamentally incompatible with the needs and rights of the Aboriginal community that has lived there for many decades.

AAP

Drug raids led up to Redfern riot, says Carr

March 9, 2004 - 11:37AM

Police carried out a series of drug raids in inner-Sydney Redfern in the days leading up to a violent riot, NSW Premier Bob Carr said today.

About 40 police officers were injured when a mob pelted them with bricks, bottles and molotov cocktails at The Block in Redfern on February 15.

The riots were reportedly sparked by the death of 17-year-old Thomas "TJ" Hickey, who was fatally impaled on a fence after crashing his bike. Locals claimed he was being chased by police.

A report today suggested a group of drug dealers, preying on the inner-city community, were preparing for an attack on police a day before TJ was killed.

NSW Premier Bob Carr today confirmed police had been carrying out drug-related raids in the days leading up to the riot.

"I've always said about Redfern that the riot we saw was criminality, plain and simple," Mr Carr told reporters.

"I can confirm that there was police activity on drugs in central Redfern.

"Strike Force Time Piece is investigating the entire incident, the riot at Redfern of course and they've made 19 arrests ... in the period since the riot."

Mr Carr said one of the 19 people arrested in connection with the riot had also been charged with drug dealing offences.

The premier said it was too early to comment on what had caused the riot.

"Whatever the factor that caused it, nothing excuses that violence."

Police Minister John Watkins said police had today also arrested a man in connection to a bag-snatching incident at Redfern railway station which took place the day before the riot.

Mr Watkins described the Saturday morning incident as a "violent, quite horrendous attack on an innocent passer-by".

AAP