Police have confirmed that the perpetrator who threw a bomb into the Boorloo Invasion Day rally is being charged with an act of terror. Premier Roger Cook said the attack was motivated by “hateful, racist ideology.
”Senator Lidia Thorpe is calling on the Albanese Government to now take strong, decisive action to tackle racism and hate against First Peoples.
Police have confirmed that the perpetrator who threw a bomb into the Boorloo Invasion Day rally is being charged with an act of terror. Premier Roger Cook said the attack was motivated by “hateful, racist ideology.”
Senator Lidia Thorpe is calling on the Albanese Government to now take strong, decisive action to tackle racism and hate against First Peoples.
Quotes attributable to Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator:
"Charging the Boorloo bombing as an act of terror shows how serious this attack was. It recognises the severity of the violence and the racialised hatred behind it.
The Prime Minister Albanese has finally addressed this directly in Parliament today. It took him too long to speak.
But his suggestion that these racist or white supremacist views live only in corners of the internet is minimising the reality.
First Peoples face these hateful views every day. They are our lived reality. This hatred is on our streets, it's everywhere and it is growing.
Albanese must speak honestly to the scale and seriousness of white supremacy in this country.
From the beginning, we called this attack for what it was and asked this country to take it seriously. Those calls were ignored. The silence and minimisation added further harm and trauma to people who were already hurting. That must stop.
The Parliament has condemned this attack, and terror charges have now been laid. But the Albanese government must now begin the serious work to address systemic racism, to stamp out white supremacy and to protect our communities.
White supremacy is a growing threat to First Peoples, and to Black and Brown communities across this country. It must be confronted head-on.
They could with the low hanging fruit by implementing the National Anti-Racism Framework, delivered by the Race Discrimination Commissioner more than a year ago.
The Government has still failed to formally respond, let alone begin implementation. At a time of escalating racial hatred and violence, that inaction is indefensible.
They must also confront the racism and harm First Peoples experience at the hands of the state — in prisons, in policing, and in the devastating deaths in custody we continue to see. The harm perpetrated by governments sets the tone for the rest of the country.
Our lives matter. The violence and hate directed at First Peoples must stop. It is time for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to act strongly and decisively."