WHY ARE WE HURTING OUR LOVED ONES?

MAGISTRATE James Morton, when sentencing Winston Paul Kulka in a Cairns court on Tuesday, gave him a powerful message. In handing down justice to a man who had assaulted his former partner, Mr Morton gave some stern advice and offered a window into the future for the aggressor in front of him.

“Before you know it, you’re going to be sitting in jail and you’re going to be in your 40s and you’re going to be saying, ‘Where’s my life gone? I’ve spent most of my time at Club Lotus’,” Mr Morton said.

Mr Morton, a Torres Strait Islander, was dealing with another Indigenous man who had chosen to use his fists while drunk and he was exasperated.

Domestic violence rates in the Indigenous community are high.

We see the results in the pages of our newspaper just as Mr Morton laments it in his courtroom.

Devastatingly, domestic violence is not just a scourge on the Indigenous – it’s prolific in our entire community.

From stalking to verbal and emotional abuse, to full-blown physical attacks and murder, harm is being done by those supposedly meant to be a loved one.

The impacts on victims and their children are enormous and in fatal circumstances have a ripple effect into the wider family network and society.

For men such as Mr Kulka, who Mr Morton took the time to implore to do better, they must take responsibility for their actions and address their issues.

For the rest of us we have to work harder to teach our children respect and to act as good role models.

It’s natural to feel anger sometimes but there is never any excuse for violence, especially against our loved ones.