Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe has lambasted the government and media for their silence regarding the attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Boorloo/Perth on January 27. She said it highlights their racism towards First Nations people.
Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, introduced a motion on February 3 condemning the attack. “Let us be absolutely clear: this should be treated as an act of terror. It was a deliberate act of hate, directly targeting First Peoples on our Day of Mourning.”
She pointed out that while politicians has been quick to condemn attacks on other communities, they had not extended the same concern to the attempted bombing at Boorloo, in which a 31-year-old man threw a container with nails, ball bearings and an explosive liquid into a crowd of 2500 people. It luckily failed to detonate.
Instead, First Nations people, who are already processing the traumas of colonialism, incarceration and cultural genocide, had been met with a wall of silence.
“The attempted bombing was an act of horrific, overt hate and racism,” Thorpe said. “What followed was the quieter, insidious thrum of the entrenched, systemic racism that shapes this country.
“Decisions were made — in newsrooms, in ministerial offices, in the daily rhythms of power — about whether this was urgent. Whether it mattered. Whether our lives mattered.”
Thorpe’s motion was sponsored in the Senate by First Nations Labor Senators Malarndirri McCarthy, Jana Stewart and Dorinda Cox. It passed in the Senate and House of Representatives, in the latter case being introduced by Kate Chaney, Independent MP for Curtin.
The Liberals, Nationals and One Nation moved to record their opposition to some of the wording, including the that Australia Day be a day of mourning. However, this was not put to a vote.
Thorpe told parliament that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been conspicuous in his silence — failing to dedicate a media conference or statement to the attack, instead only commenting when asked.
MPs from the opposition Liberal and National parties had also said nothing - in stark contrast to their previous expressions of concern and dedication to action in the wake of the Bondi attacks on the Jewish community.
The Boorloo bomber was arrested at the scene and his home in Perth’s northern suburb of Warwick was raided. He was denied bail and charged with intent to harm in such a way as to endanger life, health or safety, and with making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.
A few days later, it was reported that the Western Australia Joint Counter Terrorism Team had been brought in to investigate the incident as a “potential terrorist attack”, although no further charges have been laid at the time of writing.
Thorpe argued that a court decision to protect this man’s identity highlighted the extent to which the welfare of First Nations people was deprioritised while being denied true acknowledgment as a targeted group.
“The court has suppressed the attacker’s identity, accepting arguments about his safety in prison because so many of our people are incarcerated,” Thorpe said. “Once again, First Peoples are framed as a threat rather than recognised as the victims.”
She called on MPs to not only to condemn the attack, but consider what the mainstream reaction had shown the First Nations community. “I ask those in this place — and everyone listening — to pause and reflect. To ask yourselves, honestly: why was this not seen as deserving national attention?
“This motion is about bringing this country together. It’s about recognition and responsibility. It is about condemning hate and racism consistently, no matter who the victim is or what colour their skin is.
“It asks this parliament to say clearly to First Peoples: we hear you. We believe you. We recognise that racism and hatred directed at you are real and rising. And it calls on this parliament to commit to urgent action to address racism, hate and violence against First Peoples.”
Thorpe said she hoped Albanese would speak on the motion in the House of Representatives. However, he did not.