Alarm at violence in tribal clashes

BARE-KNUCKLE street boxing, known as “fair fights”, is boiling over into violent tribal clashes in Queensland’s Aboriginal townships.

Footage obtained by NeswCorp shows mostly young indigenous women, and men, in brutal street bouts, some that turn into mass brawls, at seven of the state’s remote former missions since the new year.

Dozens of onlookers – some armed with fence palings and baseball bats, and many of them children – can be heard baying for blood and screaming obscenities to goad on the opposing ranks of rival clans.

Two combatants go toe-totoe, usually bare-knuckle and barefoot, until one admits defeat and walks away or is knocked out.

Some fights filmed in Doomadgee, Mornington Island, Palm Island and Cherbourg over the past two weeks can be seen turning into a melee as elders or police try to intervene.

Aboriginal leaders have called for a ban on the practice of “fair fights”.

Palm Island Aboriginal Council Mayor Alf Lacey, who leads the anti-violence campaign, said there was “no excuse” for the barbarity.

“It should not be tolerated, in this day and age, it only perpetuates wider community violence and social unrest,’’ he said.

Queensland Police, who faced criticism for not intervening in a street fight in Aurukun last year, have told how they had to tread a line of “cultural sensitivity” to avoid the risk of more widespread violence or attacks on officers.

“You can get two people fighting and 100 watching,’’ Acting Far North Assistant Police Commissioner Kevin Guteridge said.

“It is often retaliation for a social media post. There is a significant risk that people do die from being punched in the head, we’ve seen it happen.

“Police don’t condone or tolerate violence. But we are dealing with a very unique part of the world, and we have to exercise a high degree of caution to prevent these fights from flaring up and becoming more wide scale.”