In Melbourne What they're saying . . .
The Sunday Age
Sunday February 28, 2010
In MelbourneHerald SunYESTERDAY the government launched a pointless and outdated advertising campaign that was designed more to give the impression of action rather than achieve anything.That happened 24 hours after the Premier suggested street problems were improving, but was promptly contradicted by police.Now he has sniffed that political wind perhaps he'll forget the spin and seriously address some basic areas with the declared aim of making life safer. The figures are unreliable but anecdotal evidence from police, hospitals and youth workers confirms there has been a frightening increase in the willingness of people to carry knives and use them.So, where do we start? Are the laws tough enough? Probably not. Stroll around any number of suburban markets and you'll see knives for sale that have nothing to do with cutting up the steak and everything to do with making weapons "cool". NEIL MITCHELLIn SydneyThe Sydney Morning HeraldAUSTRALIAN schools have no need for metal detectors at the school gate and armed guards in the playground. The gun and knife culture, endemic to the US, is still peripheral to Australia. But there is no room for complacency. For unacceptable numbers of students, school is a miserable place that imperils their physical and mental health. The fatal attack is rare. Last year a student of Mullumbimby High, Jai Morcom, 15, died of head injuries sustained in a fight; last week in Brisbane a 13-year-old was charged with the murder of a fellow student. In NSW between three and six children under 18 are charged with murder a year. No one can be sure how close we are to a tipping point where it becomes "cool" for youngsters to carry a knife, or to feel unsafe without one. Beneath the extremes lies a minefield of other acts of violence. It is a vicious circle. Schoolyard behaviour is influenced by a society in which king-hitting is a national sport and domestic violence a national shame. ADELE HORINIn QueenslandThe Courier-MailWE DON'T know yet the exact circumstances of young Elliot Fletcher's death, and here is not the place to speculate. Suffice to say, life and death is usually far, far more complicated than what you see on the surface. His sad passing did, however, spark yet another round of fear and loathing about our "knife culture" and what factors might be so corrupting our next generation. Before the poor kid was even laid to rest or the ink had dried on the coppers' notebooks, though, there was a line of fingers pointing at the scourge of violent computer games. Apparently, according to reports in this newspaper and others, we have a generation conditioned to quick and violent responses via games consoles, who are somewhat removed from the potential consequences of their real-world actions. What a load of old cobblers. I've heard it all before. When I was a teenager, in the late 1970s/early '80s, it was the scourge of the so-called "video nasties".PAUL SYVRETSunday MailIT IS important not to over-react and turn our schools into places of searches and suspicion or distract teachers from their core role. But this knife culture is just one step from the madness that has turned some US schools into bloodhouses.Britain, too, became hostage to the terror of a knife culture after a series of senseless killings. London police reacted by turning out the pockets of more than 438,000 youths, finding almost 8400 knives and leading to 16,000 arrests. And the government is massively increasing the penalties for knife murders from 15 to 25 years in jail.The problem is far from solved, but at least the public feels something is being done to break a vicious circle of violence.There is much we don't know or understand about the death of Elliott Fletcher, but we should use this tragedy to rule off the ledger and say "no more knives". Enough is enough.In Queensland
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