The following article appeared in newspapers across Australia highlighting the over-representation of Indigenous youth in juvenile justice systems, not just in the State of Western Australia where this case took place, but right across Australia.
 
A 12 year old Aboriginal boy has been charged with receiving stolen goods, a 70 cent chocolate Freddo Frog. The Freddo Frog was stolen by a friend of his. This 12 year old has not had any prior convictions.
 
According to the newspaper report "when the boy last month missed a court date due to a family misunderstanding, police had apprehended him about 8am on a school day and taken him into custody. The boy was then imprisoned for several hours in the holding cell at the police station."

This time last week (Saturday February 7, 2009) the State of Victoria in south-east Australia suffered its worst bushfire disaster. The temperature on the day reached a record 46 degrees Celsius/115 degrees Fahrenheit. Bushfires in rural eastern Victoria came to within 50 kilometres of the State's capital, Melbourne. The fires are in fact still burning.

The bushfires have to date resulted in 181 people dead, over 1,800 homes destroyed, and 7,000 people made homeless. Several towns were almost completely wiped off the map. One rural town in particular, Marysville, population 500, has lost 1 in 5 people to the bushfire.