BREAKING NEWS: The Boorloo bomber has been charged with engaging in a terrorist act.
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Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe said the government silence on the attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Boorloo/Perth on January 27 highlights their racism towards First Nations people.
Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, introduced a successful 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 MPs had been quick to condemn attacks on other communities, they had not shown the same concern after 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, 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 by First Nations Labor Senators Malarndirri McCarthy, Jana Stewart and Dorinda Cox. It passed there and the House of Representatives, where it was 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 that Australia Day be a day of mourning. However, this was not put to a vote.
Thorpe said the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had failed to dedicate a media conference or statement to the attack, and only commented on it when asked.
MPs from the Liberal and National parties also said nothing — in stark contrast to their 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 a way as to endanger life, health or safety, and with making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.
A few days later, the Western Australia Joint Counter Terrorism Team was bought 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 ask 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.
[This article was updated on February 5.]