The racially motivated violence in Sydney's southern suburbs over the past few days has drawn fierce condemnation from all but a few groups involved in the conflict. There is no doubt that the indiscriminate violence against people and property should not be tolerated in a democratic society.

The mechanics of the riots is a simple question of ownership. Beaches are notoriously tribal places and most residents of beachside suburbs are fiercely territorial. They are people who have been raised on a diet of surf and sand and regard their beach and their surf break as their birth-right. In this case, the people of South Eastern Sydney have reacted violently and emotionally at the threat of outsiders dropping in on their wave, so to speak. Ownership disputes have led to almost every violent reprisal in history, whether that be over territory, property, religion or ideology. Nazi propaganda stressed that Jewish people were taking German jobs, threatening German industry, and gradually poisoning the German bloodline and birth-right. Believing these threats to be credible, the Nazi Party reacted in the most violent manner possible. It is the same mechanism which led to Marxist revolutions in Eastern Europe, albeit a little in reverse. In these instances, the working class had to recognise that they deserved custody of the fruits of their labour before they began to fight for it. But in the end it was a question of ownership.

It is this mechanism that has led to such vocal outcry amongst reasonable Australians at the violence itself. Reasonable Australians consider that they own part of the Australian ethos of tolerance and respectability. You know, the bit about giving everyone a fair go. In the face of an affront to this cultural sensibility, most Aussies are violently and emotionally defending the ownership of this birthright, even if it is with words and ideas, rather than bottles, baseball bats or fists. Unfortunately, one of the violent and emotional ideas is a new set of emergency laws which will give NSW Police officers powers to curb violence in riot situations. So important are these laws that the NSW Premier, Morris Iemma, has reconvened Parliament over the Christmas recess to debate this legislation. The emergency powers are not in themselves unreasonable when applied to the current circumstances. They will allow Police to restrict access to riot locations, prevent the sale of alcohol in bottle shops and pubs, or impound vehicles involved in riots. However, the State Legislature should ensure that these laws are good legislation that will not be misused in other circumstances, and not just an emotional and violent response to our threatened civility, or a quick fix to appease the electorate.

It is clear that the "We are one, but we are many" attitude towards ethnic integration in this country is not sufficient. The real solution must be to re-define what each of us actually own and deserve as our Australian birth-right. Condemning the violence in a fair and equitable manner and approaching the problem with reasonable, considered ideas, rather than rash action is the first step.