The caste system in Australia: First there were the convicts and the bunyip aristocracy. Now there are the white and black 'trash' and the moneyed people.
Adam is 47 and last Christmas was the first he has spent out of jail since the 90s. He hasn't done anything seriously wrong: stealing, possession of drugs, verbal abuse of police, driving without a licence ... it's a long list of predictable offences. I lived with Adam for most of this year and got to see that he belongs to a caste that is as entrenched in Australia as any of the untouchables in India.
Adam is couch surfing now and his belongings are in a storage shed in Kelso. I had a phone message: 'Steve, g'day mate, how are ya, I can't get out of the storage shed, I'm stuck in the friggin storage complex, I came in when the gate was open now I'm ringing the number, I can't get out mate, can you call me please?'
When I turned up he said: 'The coppers come here yesterday. They come because I was going through the stuff. Someone come and thought I was breaking into the shed. I don't know why the coppers come. Maybe the shorts, tattoos.
'He goes — how are you going mate, do you own this shed? I says — no I don't own it. So he says — well what are you doing here then? I says — I am renting it. They said — what do you mean you are renting it? I said — well I used to live with Fr Steve Sinn in Bant St. He says — Oh, you lived with a priest right? I go — yeah, but I'm not living there anymore, my stuff's in storage here.
'They said — we had a complaint that someone was breaking into the storage shed. I go — here I've got some ID, oh mate. He goes — whose name is it in? I said — I'm pretty sure it's in this priest's name but I'm not sure. He goes — do you own the property? Yeah, I go, look here's some ID for you. That's all I've got chief, it's me jail ID. He says — what are you doing? I says — I'm staying out of trouble. He's alright, he's alright about it.'
There is much in this exchange that is revealing. Firstly, the phone. You need to dial