Inside the remote Aboriginal community so dangerous that health workers need a POLICE ESCORT just to enter the town and shop owners fear for their lives amid theft and vandalism spree
- Health workers threaten to stop entering the town after spate of assaults
- Local residents say the community has become a 'miserable place to live'
- Police blame family disputes for violent attacks but locals say youths are bored
The remote Aboriginal community of Yarrabah has been deemed so dangerous that health workers require a police escort when they enter the town and supermarket workers are in fear for their lives.
Youths in Yarrabah, east of Cairns, have attacked ambulances with rocks and fishing sinkers - and medics fear they will be set upon again.
Locals blame the violence on boredom arising from unemployment, and acknowledged that it made the area 'a miserable place to live'.
Footage of recent attacks showed gangs of children, some as young as six, brawling with each other on the street.
Yarrabah Paramedics (pictured) said they were disheartened by what was happening in recent attacks on medical personnel
Married couple Camilla Lee (left) and Jason Lee (right) moved from Sydney to help run a family business in Yarrabah five years ago
Yarrabah Supermarket Owner Jason Lee, 35, who opened his business in the community five years ago says he witnesses lots of violence regularly
Mr Lee has dealt with 16 incidents taking place between mid October to December 2018
Paramedics Richard Murgha and Lavin Keyes Jnr were discouraged by the violence.
The medics told Yarrabah News: 'We want to look after our community and people within the community to the best of our ability, and when these sort of things happen it's very disheartening.'
A long-term resident, that wished to remain anonymous, told the Cairns Post the town had become 'a miserable place to live' since the fighting had escalated recently.
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She said: 'Kids are fighting and instead of sorting it out, the adults are jumping in and getting involved.
'It's been going on for the three months with these families — they bring in extended family from out of town and it's just snowballing.
'All these kids are just sitting on the side of the road waiting for the next fight.'
Yarrabah supermarket owner Jason Lee, 35, who opened his business in the community five years ago, witnesses violence regularly.
At the end of August, the Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation warned over Facebook that organisations may stop sending workers and some were seeking alternative employment
Footage of the incidents (pictured), involving children, men, and women, are then captured by youths and posted on social media
His car has also been smashed out the front of the business many times, with the most recent incident five months ago
Yarrabah Supermarket Owner Jason Lee believes the violence may be caused by boredom and unemployment
'The vast majority are unemployed so they don't have a lot to do, so all it takes is for a kid to say something stupid [to another] and they brawl,' Mr Lee told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Lee has been assaulted on numerous occasions and his business had been broken into regularly, with 16 incidents between mid October and December 2018.
He said his attackers were mostly children, and some were as young as four or five.
The soon-to-be father said: 'They [children] know that they are untouchable and parents don't care.
'Kids will generally get banned from shops for theft or violence. They get upset and come back and throw things at the shop. Then their parents come and get aggressive because their children have been banned.'
Mr Lee has been assaulted on numerous occasions and his business broken into regularly
Lee, who moved to the area from Sydney says that he believes there may be 'budget issues' which lead to a limited police presence at night time and increased crime
The QPS spokesman said police were 'completely satisfied' continuous improvements and innovations through connection underpins the whole of government responses in Yarrabah
Mr Lee shared images of his shop after youths have rampaged through the supermarket
Mr Lee said his attackers were mostly children, and some were as young as four or five
The shopkeeper has also been attacked with a nine kilogram gas bottle on multiple occasions, had things thrown at him, and been beaten by metal poles.
He said the youths usually break into his shop through the roof and thrash the shop while stealing whatever they can.
Food items are left splattered across the shop floor and his ATM has been destroyed.
His car has also been smashed when parked outside the shop many times, with the most recent incident five months ago.
Queensland Police said officers had to escort workers into town to keep the medics safe.
'This is short-term measure being undertaken to increase safety and ensure the vital hospital operation continues without incident,' a police spokesman said.
Mr Lee has often gone into his store after it has been trashed by youths and found it cannot be opened
Images show Mr Lee's store after youths trashed it, throwing products such as eggs everywhere
!['The vast majority are unemployed so they don't have a lot to do, so all it takes is for a kid to say something stupid [to another] and they brawl,' he told Daily Mail Australia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/09/05/08/18094540-7429035-image-a-5_1567669921312.jpg)
'The vast majority are unemployed so they don't have a lot to do, so all it takes is for a kid to say something stupid [to another] and they brawl,' he told Daily Mail Australia
Food items are left splattered across the shop floor and his ATM has been destroyed
'The small number of people, numbering two or four, involved in these incidents are usually motivated by family relationships or disputes and an attending crowd of supporters/onlookers not directly involved in the fighting.
'Police investigations are continuing, but four juveniles aged from nine to 14 are being dealt with in accordance with the Youth Justice Act and the support of their parents.'
Just last month Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation warned locals via Facebook that organisations would stop sending workers into the town.
'We are asking you to please talk to children about pelting rocks at cars and explain to them about how dangerous it is for the people in the cars, and that they can get into serious trouble with the police and also that some of the health services could be stopped,' the post read.
Shop workers ion the small town, such as Mr Lee, fear for their lives when they go into work
A remote Aboriginal community is so dangerous that health workers need a police escort to enter the town and
Youths in Yarrabah, east of Cairns, have attacked ambulances with rocks and fishing sinkers
Mr Lee's store has been attacked multiple times in just a few months, with products strewn across the floor
Queensland police said officers had to escort workers into town to keep the medics safe
Service providers - Gurriny, PLOs and Council are meeting regularly to address concerns about youth behaviour
Yarrabah community and its leaders do not shy away from admitting they have problems, Mayor Ross Andrews says.
'We acknowledge there are challenges around dysfunction and we're honest with ourselves – we know we have a problem,' he said.
'There are only a handful of kids causing these problems but we do not shy away from these issues.
'We could put more dollars into the community to try to solve the problem, but that's not going to make parents accountable for their kids.
'How can we stop this cycle where we are trying to educate and occupy kids to stop them from ending up in a perpetual welfare trap – a job their parents should be doing, even though they are often stuck in the same trap themselves.
'As a Council, and with the Yarrabah Leaders' Forum, we are looking for legislative backing to make parents responsible, we need a collaborative solution between all levels of government, we can't fix this on our own.'
