Punished for being homeless

By Bill Day

DARWIN -- A woman who spoke at a rally of homeless Aboriginal people here on March 17 has been fined $1060 for taking two blankets and a bedspread from a city motel. Her partner was fined $540 for the same offence.

The two were arrested by police as they slept in a nearby cemetery. Yolanda Roberts and Mark Smith both come from Maningrida where community initiatives have been stifled by an entrenched group of administrators. Smith and Roberts live in a suburban camp where drinking water is carried in jerry cans through the mangroves.

The excessive fines are part of a campaign to drive homeless Aborigines out of Darwin. City council inspectors also issue $50 on-the-spot fines for the "crime" of sleeping in a public place.

Roberts joined speakers at the rally who claimed, "When it rains we hide ourselves in toilets or at the shops -- that's where we stay. We are rounded up like dogs at the RSPCA."

Because of cut backs to legal aid, an appeal against the fines is unlikely.

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