Abstract:
Almost thirty years ago in the case of R'v Neal (1982),1 members ofthe HighCourt recognised that an Indigenous defendant's assault (swearing and spitting) on a reserve officer inYarrabah, Queensland, needed to be understood in its paternalistic aQd racist context. Two ofthe four High Courtjudges acknowledged. that racist tensio.os onreserves that provoke 'violent' crimes against non-Indigenous officers can be factors that reduce the offender's criminal sentence; because they reduce the culpability of the Indigenous offender.
