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07-06-2020
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report
Mass rallies marched across Australia today with tens of thousands of people joining global Black Lives Matter protests, calling for an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
Despite warnings from government, health officials and state police, protests flooded NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
The protests were a show solidarity with the BLM movement and African American George Floyd, who died while being arrested in Minneapolis.
Protesters in Australia were also aiming to support the Aboriginal community and highlight high levels of indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody.
Sydney
NSW’s Court of Appeal has rejected the decision to ban the rally in Sydney, making today’s demonstration officially legal.
It comes after the highest court in NSW banned the Sydney protest because it breached coronavirus restrictions, but the warning failed to stop the marches.
Thousands of people gathered on the steps of Sydney’s Town Hall, chanting “Black Lives Matter”.
Other chants of “no justice, no peace” and “no racist, police” were heard.
Rally organisers in Sydney urged protesters to wear masks and move in groups of ten around Sydney’s Town Hall Square.
“We don’t want to get sick,” the organisers told the crowd.
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said authorities have always feared an outbreak in indigenous communities.
Professor Murphy said that while people had the right to protest, mass gatherings were dangerous in the midst of a pandemic.
Melbourne
More than 10,000 Victorians gathered at the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne’s CBD today despite orders to stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
People were masked but refused to be silenced, as crowds funneled together down Bourke Street.
Clapping and chanting also erupted as crowds surrounded the steps of State Parliament, with people holding signs including “Black Lives Matter”, “No Room for Racism” and “White Silence Is White Violence”.
A traditional didgeridoo and smoking ceremony also took place outside Flinders Street Station.
Protest organisers Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance stressed the safety of the community was paramount.
Demonstrators were told to use hand sanitiser and wear masks, with organisers distributing masks among crowds.
People were also reminded in speeches to adhere to social distancing, but video showed limited social distancing was occurring.
A sea of Aboriginal flags also flooded streets, with speeches expressing the death in police custody in the US was no different to what Aboriginal people have experienced in Australia.
Speakers remembered more than 430 Indigenous people lost in police custody.
“Australia needs to talk about it.
Public transport services have been disrupted and roads have closed in the CBD including Spring Street, Bourke Street and Collins Street.
Trams on Bourke Street, Swanston Street, Collins Street and Flinders Street were diverting or operating in shortened sections.
No City Circle trams will operate until after 5pm. Motorists are currently unable to access Spring and Bourke Streets and Spring and Collins Street.
Authorities remain on high alert against the spread of coronavirus as Victorians congregate.
Hundreds of officers monitored crowds, Victoria Police previously warning that rally organisers could be fined $1652 because of COVID-19 restrictions, with those fines also applying to individuals.
One COVID-19-positive person at the Saturday afternoon mass gathering could be all it takes to squander the gains made, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has warned.
Community transmission is down to extremely low levels but the greater numbers at the rally increase the risk.
Professor Sutton has urged Victorians to stay home over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend unless absolutely necessary.
Premier Daniel Andrews’ message was “don’t go”.
“We are in the middle of a global pandemic. This is serious,” he said on Friday.
Queensland
Thousands of people have flocked to inner-city Brisbane to protest police brutality against indigenous Australians and call for justice for those who have died in custody.
Crowds spilled from King George Square to neighbouring blocks, with people packing stairwells and balconies to get a view while others brandished signs calling for reform in Queensland and across the globe.
Speakers, including elders, traditional owners and African Australians, detailed police brutality against members of their own families and racism they had experienced.
“We rise together and we speak in one voice against racism … and legislation that takes away our freedom in this country … our right to have a voice, our right to be free,” Wangan and Jagalingou man Adrian Burragubba said.
Cheers and applause echoed through the streets as he called for justice and government-funded trauma support for families whose loved ones die in custody.
“While our people are dying in custody, our voice has gotta become louder, become a roar,” he said.
In a separate press conference, Quandamooka woman and state Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch encouraged Queenslanders to speak out.
“Whether you’re talking about the US or right here in Australia, black lives matter,” she said.
“It is not just about turning up for one day, it is about turning up every day in your families, in your workplace, in your community, to tell the truth, to confront the truth, the sometimes uncomfortable, ugly truth of our shared history,” she said.
As the protests unfolded the Queensland government confirmed one new positive COVID-19 case after several days of no new cases.
A public health alert has been issued after a man, believed to be a fruit picker, travelled on two domestic Virgin flights before testing positive for COVID-19.
South Australia
In South Australia, thousands of protesters have gathered in Adelaide holding signs and chanting to support the Indigenous community and call for change.
The state’s police commissioner yesterday granted permission for a BLM protest to proceed in Adelaide, calling it a “unique and extraordinary” event.
Commissioner Grant Stevens says the exemption from emergency provisions will allow the event to go ahead without breaching COVID-19 restrictions, but those taking part must still be mindful of their own health and the health of others.
Tasmania
Hundreds have registered their interest in attending a candlelight vigil on the lawns of Parliament House in Hobart.
Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said Tasmania Police supports people’s right to protest provided it is done legally.
