Shock and appall

Here is a story from the SMH:

Driver straps in beer, not toddler

A Northern Territory driver has been fined by police after he strapped a seatbelt around a carton of beer but left a five-year-old child to sit on the floor of his car.

The man was pulled over on the Ross Highway, south of Alice Springs, about 3.30pm on Friday, when officers on patrol noticed the vehicle was unregistered and uninsured.

But what they found inside the car shocked them.

Four adults occupied the car with two in the front and two in the rear seats.

The carton of beer was buckled safely in the rear centre seat between two of the adults, while the five-year-old boy crouched on the floor.

"The concern is about people's priorities," a Northern Territory police spokesperson said.

"You get a lot of people riding around without seat belts in remote communities here but it is very unusual to see someone go to the trouble of strapping in a carton of beer instead of a small child. That is the shocking thing."

Here is the description of the incident from the NT Police website:

One seatbelt incident was very concerning, an unregistered Holden commodore was apprehended on the Ross Highway, Alice Springs and a 5 year old child was found in the back seat unrestrained, however there was a 30 pack of beer secured in the seatbelt that should have been restraining the child.

Superintendent Parnell of Alice Springs police was appalled by this incident and said, “This serves as a timely reminder to all drivers to ensure they wear seatbelts and ensure as is their responsibility that all passengers in their vehicle are secured in the appropriate manner”

Somehow, I doubt the NT coppers were shocked by this. Appalled yes, shocked no. This sort of shit is just all too common up there, and compared to kiddie rape, murder, bashings and so on, strapping in beer rather than a kid is quite inconsequential.

My thoughts on this whole case:

• The driver was fined $750. He was driving an uninsured, unregistered vehicle. Chances of fine being paid? My opinion - nil.
• This happened in a "remote community". My interpretation - everyone in the car was black. But we can't say that. Big no no.
• What is the point of a Sydney paper running a story like this from the NT? Is this of any interest to Sydney-siders? How should reading this story benefit me, unless the SMH is sending secret coded messages to us that some of the blacks up there are fucking hopeless.
• Since when have 30 cans of beer been enough for 4 adults on a road trip? I thought you'd need at least 12 cans per person (that's my experience anyway). The lack of beer would be certain to cause a fight about 60% of the way through the trip.