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.