Cirrus@Austlit

'If you want to know the difference between the Black and White Witness, all you have to do is mention the war. The White Witness will often describe it in this way. In 2004, Palm Island was continually referred to as the 'most dangerous place on Earth outside of a conflict zone', following the tragic death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee (who died on a watchhouse floor, with a liver cleaved in two and injuries akin to those of a plane crash victim). In 2015 the Cape York community of Aurukun was labelled ground zero, with 'clashes between warring families ... Forcing terrified locals to flee for their safety', and 'children (who) were now caught in a warzone'. The same was said of Wadeye, thousands of kilometres away in north-east Arnhem Land, which in 2006 was labelled 'Not the Third World, just Australia's first war zone' with 'scores of Aborigines' 'fleeing their homes' and 'living in squalid refugee-like camps' due to 'gang violence'. In 2013 the 'Sydney Morning Herald' manipulated crime statistics to claim that the far-west NSW town of Bourke, with its large Aboriginal population, was 'the most dangerous place on Earth'.'  (Publication abstract)