Darwin Longgrass Association

Media Release

for Friday September 5, 2001

Freedom to Sleep

Longgrass people have the right to live in peace

Come along and hear their stories

A camp will be set up at Parliament House, on Sunday October 7 from 3pm,by longgrass people and their friends, to highlight increasing police and council harassment.

Longgrass people are tired of being pushed from camp to camp, being locked up, fined for sleeping, having their belongings confiscated and burnt by Darwin City Council and going to prison for unpaid fines.

The camp has been established to give politicians and the community the chance to talk with people who live in the longgrass, and hear their stories. Longgrass people demand an end to the harassment.

Chief Minister Clare Martin and Darwin Lord Mayor George Brown have been invited to come to the camp and talk to people at 9am, Monday October 8.

Longgrass people are tired of hiding

Bush camps have always been a feature of Darwin. Many people will remember the mixture of people who camped a Lameroo Beach over many years, including singer/songwriter Paul Kelly (NT News, 28/8/01).

Since that time, the NT Government and Darwin City Council have introduced and are enforcing more and more repressive laws which target longrassers:

Council By law 103 – sleeping in a public place between dusk and dawn is an offence.

Council By law 100 – stacking and storing goods in a public place is an offence.

Council By law 44(1) – lighting fires without a permit is an offence.

NT Litter Act Section 6 (1) – it is an offence to drop litter in a public place.

These laws are used to make life difficult for people living in the longgrass and result in people getting fines which they are often unwilling or unable to pay, except by doing time in prison.

Johnny Balaiya speaking about blackfella law and balanda law.

“This is not for a white man country, because this is the country for the blackfella country. They born here and I born here, true story. My son my brother, my cousin, they born here. I don’t like that balanda way, no. I want to look after myself blackfella way, that’s the really one.”

Jinang mob from Lee Point have also been harassed for living in the longgrass.

“We moved here, Lee Point, and the Conservation mob they told us ‘you people not allowed to camp here. Pack your bags and go, it’s against the law, go somewhere else’. They told us, ‘we might burn all the tents and clothes for you if you don’t go’, they said ‘if you mob stay here, you have to pay $25 each for the fine’. If we leave this stuff and nobody here, they will come and burn it. When we come back – all ashes, so three or four of us stay here and look after camp.

“Night Patrol and police grab people, City Council giving us the fine every minute and stealing our bags and ranger conservation mob they think they’re policeman now. Every time they say go somewhere else they don’t give up the reason. They say there’s not enough room here at Lee Point, but there’s a big mob of room here. They should be shame of themselves when they hear this story, treating us like a dog, making us sleep everywhere.”

Leanyer longrasser Bob Bunba said “How come when they come and see us they say ‘oh, what you doing here, get your gear and go’ and we pack up and take another place and after that they see us and they say ‘ah, you’re here Bob’, but I’m staying here, I might see you mob Legal Aid, and they say ‘no, just go right now’.

“Well I carry all the gear, myself and my wife, put another place and come back, get another one, hide it you know. And they come and see me and I say no I’m camping sister place, bullshit, I’m camping another place. Why that? So I want to make sure what they doing, that City Council mob. They want money or what? I want to try ask you.”