The causes behind the Macquarie Fields’ riots
The South-Western Sydney suburb of Macquarie Fields has been the seen of continual clashes between young rioters and police over the last four nights since two young men were killed during a police pursuit on Friday. The deaths of Dylan Rayward, 17, and Matt Robertson, 19, have sparked a reaction that many are comparing to Redfern one year earlier. Like Redfern, angry youth are claiming police responsibility for the deaths of the young men. But perhaps more significantly, both Macquarie Fields and Redfern have large public housing estates that are home to social problems such as drug abuse and unemployment. Michael Bounds, an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Western Sydney, spoke to Bill Birtles about the development of housing estates and the alternatives to concentrating disadvantaged people in small areas.