By Ray Whear

OPINION: I wrote this as a letter to the Fyles Government and the NT Police as the chief executive officer of the Deewin Kirim Aboriginal Corporation, on behalf of the traditional owners, stakeholders and residents of the Peppimenarti community who have been plagued by violence and unrest over the past three-and-a-half years.

The community of Peppimenarti and surrounding homeland communities falls statistically in the most disadvantaged region in the NT based on the Australian Bureau of Statistic’s Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas, and the second most disadvantaged in Australia. This index itself shows the absolute need to improve economic opportunities, health outcomes and social needs of the community.

The Centre for Social Impact for the seventh year running, ranked the NT’s social equity and well-being as being the poorest in Australia.

The government response to these appalling statistics has been laden with rhetoric, empty promises and buck-passing, however the reality at community level is that nothing ever happens besides pointless meetings and unfulfilled assurances.

After seven years isn’t it about time that the NT Government and NT Police seriously address the ongoing social and economic inequities that exist in our remote communities? The strengthening of cultural, economic and social ecosystems should be a core role of government by confronting the lack of dignity, absence of purpose and dispossession, that leads to this ongoing environment of violence and terror.

As the reader, you will no doubt be aware the Peppimenarti community has been subjected to persistent and ongoing violent attacks from the Peppimenarti-based gang known as the Jovi Boys.

For the past three-and-a-half years, these attacks have resulted in the death of one person, the near death of another, both from crossbows, and severe injuries resulting from machete, tomahawk, knife and other assorted weapon attacks.

Mr Jones’ death in September 2022 left behind a traumatised wife and four little boys with no government support or counselling. Other families and relatives in Peppimenarti are equally traumatised by this death and ongoing injuries and attacks, however there is no Territory Families support, no mental health support, and absolutely no plan in place to improve this inexcusable situation.

In addition to these targeted attacks on the Wilson, Jones, Maloney, Jimarin and Gilbert families, the level of domestic violence amongst the Jovi Boys gang families has risen exponentially with most, if not all of the alleged offenders remaining free to roam the community and carry out further and more serious offences.

This is despite bail conditions and domestic violence and personal violence restraining orders being in place against these individuals.

In response to media reports addressing the ongoing Peppimenarti violence, the NT Police spokesperson always echoes previous police rhetoric indicating that they are liaising with stakeholders, and community leaders, to improve the situation, however this is simply not correct; it is blatantly false.

Across 2022 and 2023, no police or their representatives have called a meeting to speak with the Deewin Kirim board or myself as CEO of Deewin Kirim, neither have they liaised with community elders, the West Daly Shire elected member for Peppimenarti, shire services manager, the local National Indigenous Australians Agency representative, local Northern Land Council representative, the Peppimenarti Health Services manager, myself again as CEO of Peppimenarti Health Services, Peppimenarti Store management and directors, the school principal, the local authority, or the housing reference group.

The NT government and NT Police are acutely aware that Peppimenarti is an Alcohol Protected Area, however the Jovi Boys gang appears immune to these restrictions.

A recent example of this was on April 23, when the Peppimenarti Clinic was asked to attend an after-hours medical emergency in close proximity to the police station. The clinic manager contacted the Peppimenarti police to ensure her safety whilst attending the emergency and was told by the police not to attend as “everyone” up that end of the community “was drunk”.

What did police do about this situation? Nothing. Later that day as the nurse manager was transporting a Deewin Kirim staff member to her home, they came across an obviously drunken Jovi Boys gang member passed out in the middle of the road. This individual was the alleged offender of a very serious domestic violence incident 12 days earlier, resulting in a Careflight evacuation, and the clinic had been advised by the local police since that time they had been unable to locate the offender.

This is despite the alleged offender leading almost daily attacks on other community residents and their homes.

This is not an issue of no police presence or a new $19 million police station; it is a straightforward matter of police failing to attend to even the most basic levels of criminal behaviour.

Every single person in Peppimenarti knew where to locate this alleged offender since April 10 and 11, except the police – apparently.

The source of all the violence and community unrest in Peppimenarti is from tenants and residents of NT Housing Department premises.

The department clearly has laws, policies and procedures aimed at protecting the community in general from unacceptable behaviour by tenants and/or their guests, that is deemed a prescribed offence or antisocial behaviour.

However, in Peppimenarti, not a single incident over the past three-and-a-half years has resulted in any affirmative action by the Housing Department or public housing safety officer. To date, no contravention or eviction orders have been issued in relation to the hundreds of reported alleged incidents involving Peppimenarti housing tenants. To the best of this writer’s knowledge, no investigation has ever taken place into the criminal and antisocial behaviour of housing tenants in Peppimenarti and the ongoing breaches of “acceptable behaviour” that continue to occur every day.

To make matters worse, more than three years ago, numerous residents’ houses were trashed by the Jovi Boys, forcing many tenants to either move from Peppimenarti, or live in tents or under trees at the opposite end of community. These anguished homeless people are still living in tents and suffered the added indignity of Territory Housing charging them rent for years after their homes were destroyed.

No compensation, rent reimbursement or alternative housing has been offered to these dispossessed families.

The community has lost count of the empty promises of housing; the new houses and Room to Breathe additions were pledged in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and then definitely in 2023. However, we have absolutely nothing.

Not one Room to Breathe extension, and not a single house. More empty promises have been made in the past by police such as mobile CCTV installations monitored by Darwin, improved policing of weapons-related offences, crackdowns on domestic violence and gang activity, but once again not one undertaking has been honoured. In fact, the situation has only become worse.

In relation to the overall housing problems brought about by the lack of policing, our organisation currently has no staff housing and consequently no management staff in the community, after extensive armed home invasions, house break-ins, homes trashed, stolen employee vehicles and an employee stabbing and assault.

Since April 2023, all Deewin Kirim staff housing has been destroyed beyond liveability along with teachers’ houses, NIAA visiting officers’ quarters accommodation, the shire manager’s house, shire VOQ accommodation, the Peppimenarti School, the Durrmu Arts accommodation, the shire office, and too many more incidents to mention.

The NT Education Department is currently spending approximately $55,000 for each teacher’s house to implement security measures, along with NT Health and West Daly Regional Council conducting similar security installations for shire properties, and clinic housing.

Deewin Kirim, as a small indigenous corporation, cannot afford these expensive security measures, and as a result it has no housing, or administration and management, staff in community.

The corporation has been operating successfully for over 26 years and was set up by the original founders of Peppimenarti. It is the largest employer of Indigenous residents from Peppimenarti, providing and coordinating an extensive range of employment and support services for all residents of the community.

It is certainly a sad state of affairs when the very organisation that has been functioning for over 26 years, and was initiated to provide training, job opportunities, sports and recreation activities, ranger groups, medical services and community development program activities cannot function because of a small group of gang members who aren’t effectively contained through government policy or policing.

A single day’s court listing a short time ago exemplifies the concern expressed by our community. There were at least three Jovi Boys gang members before the NT courts for a range of violence related incidents such as breach of bail, manslaughter, aggravated assault, assorted firearms charges, etc. And yet these same individuals, together with others, have been continually committing these, and other more serious alleged weapons and violence related offences, since January 2020.

Four adults and three children, who are members of the Jovi Boys, were again arrested in Wadeye recently. These same individuals have been causing unrestrained terror in Peppimenarti for the past three and a half years. And in this instance, the juveniles involved were returned to Peppimenarti, and took part in more break-ins and weapons related violence on the same day they were returned to community.

Deewin Kirim in conjunction with community leaders, stakeholders and traditional owners, have over recent years made countless appeals to the NLC and NT Government to support the provision of appropriate police response in Peppimenarti and specifically we have attempted to collaborate with police to manage the escalating alcohol abuse and weapons violence which has inundated our small community.

It is clear that as of today, little if anything has changed over the past years. The community suffers daily from uncontrolled violence and illegal activities, simply due to a lack of consequences or police intervention in almost every instance.

Finally, amongst the other pressing issues, we write this letter following the unfortunate incident which caused the death of a bottleshop worker, Declan Laverty, in Darwin, and the almost immediate change to legislation resulting in the Bail Amendment Bill 2023 (NT).

The following summary highlights the concerns currently held by the Peppimenarti community regarding the bail amendment laws.

Under the Northern Territory Weapons Control Regulations 2001, the articles specified in Schedule 1 are prescribed for the purposes of the definition ofcontrolled weaponin section 3. The articles specified in Schedule 2 are prescribed for the purposes of the definition ofprohibited weaponin section 3.

Crossbows are included in the list of controlled weapons in Schedule 1, which means no licence or other authority is required to possess and use crossbows in the Northern Territory. However, a person under 18-years of age must not possess, carry, or use a crossbow. Lawful excuse in relation to the possession of a crossbow may include sport, recreation, and legitimate collection, display and exhibition.

The new Bail Amendment Bill 2023 (NT), revokes the presumption of bail for people committing crimes with prohibited weapons, even if they are not holding the weapon themselves.The Bill covers crimes involving prohibited weapons such as knives, axes, and crossbows.

But the Bill does not go far enough.

The revocation of the presumption in favour of bail will not work when it comes to stemming skyrocketing crime rates in Peppimenarti and surrounding areas, because insufficient police presence and/or action, renders criminal charges in connection to crossbow use unlikely, and makes the revocation of the presumption in favour of bail, a moot point.

And the potential for crossbows to be used unlawfully in Peppimenarti is great, particularly given well-documented high violent crime rates, lack of police action and/or presence.

The Peppimenarti community’s position is that the only way to stem the violence is to stop the supply of weapons by prohibiting the sale of crossbows altogether, or at the very least, by bringing NT legislation and regulations in line with the rest of Australia.

Those who wish to purchase a crossbow should be required to satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Be over 18-years-old.
2. Proposed lawful use e.g. (hunting, sport, recreation)
3. Demonstrate a safe use of crossbows knowledge by: a.) Completion of safety course; b.) Background checks, including criminal checks for violent crimes, prior to sale leading to a purchase permit as with firearms. c.) Purchasers must hold a shooter’s licence or appropriate permit; d.) Limit use to prescribed areas, not within 1-2km of residential areas.
4. A requirement to register or relinquish currently owned crossbows, and
5. Provide safe storage for the weapon in line with firearms legislation.

In closing, we believe the main failures mentioned above, require legislative and policy change, as does the police response or lack thereof to these incidents.

The unimpeded practice of gang members to open-carry prohibited and controlled weapons within the community for the sole purpose to threaten, intimidate and harass peaceful, law abiding community families must be stopped.

We look forward to a timely response to this letter and a proposal that will lead to Peppimenarti community returning to a safe environment for all residents to live without fear of ongoing weapons attacks and daily threats to persons and property.

Ray Whear is the chief executive of Deewin Kirim Aboriginal Corporation which is based in Peppimenarti.