An aboriginal group has accused the Northern Territory government of racism for bringing in new hygiene rules on public buses.
Community organisation Justice not Jails, which says it was formed “in opposition to racist ‘tough on crime’ agendas”, spoke out against the public transport policy earlier this week, calling it “racist” and saying it is “effectively punishing and criminalising poverty”.
The new rules are displayed on signs on Northern Territory buses, and warn that “people with dirty or stained clothes, or other items that could damage the bus will be refused travel”.
“The new ‘rules of travel’ on NT public buses now prohibit ‘dirty or stained clothes’,” a Justice not Jails spokesperson said.
“The CLP Government is placing indigenous people, who experience disproportionate levels of housing, economic and health disadvantage and discrimination, at risk of dying in custody when they catch the bus with clothes judged to be unclean or stained.
“Given the plans to make Transit Safety and Public Housing Safety Officers into fully armed members of the police force, we can only wonder if these hygiene rules will be enforced at gunpoint.”
The complaint comes less than a fortnight after a different aboriginal group warned that the NT Government’s decision to legalise pepper spray for self-defence would make racial divisions worse, “fuel violence”, and “criminalise” indigenous people.
The NT government this week announced a 12-month trial allowing members of the public to carry low-percentage Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray for self-defence as part of a broader effort to stop rampant aboriginal crime.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who has also introduced stricter bail laws, lowered the age of criminal responsibility, and promised to reverse anti-discrimination laws, said the trial would give people “more choice when it comes to personal safety”.
But peak indigenous healthcare organisation the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory said earlier this month it “condemned” the trial and claimed allowing the use of pepper spray for self-defence would “place more lives at risk”.
Ms Finocchiaro’s changes come in response to increasing concerns about public safety as a result of a territory-wide aboriginal crime wave that last year resulted in Alice Springs being ranked the 18th most dangerous city in the world, and a Labor MP warning White women were being targeted for rape and robbery.
The NT has Australia’s highest imprisonment rate with 1.2% of the population in jail, and if it was a country would be second only to El Salvador, where 1.65% are behind bars.
Despite being just 26.3% of the NT population, indigenous people make up about 90% of the territory’s adult prisoners and almost 100% of youth detainees, according to government data.
Header image: Left, the new bus rules. Right, a Darwin bus (By Bahnfrend – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link).
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