Liberals boo as speaker acknowledges the land of traditional owners at conference

Anger at the Voice referendum spilled over into a Liberal Party conference in Sydney with members booing a speaker acknowledging the land of the “traditional owners” the gathering was being held upon. Watch the video.

Anger at the Voice referendum spilled over into a Liberal Party conference being held in Sydney on Saturday with members booing a speaker acknowledging the land of the “traditional owners” the gathering was being held upon.

NSW Liberal state executive member Michelle Bishop was addressing the crowd of 600 members gathered at the Fullerton Hotel when she declared she wanted to “acknowledge that we are on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and acknowledge our traditional owners” when a some members began crying out.

A Liberal member at the event – dubbed A New Hope – blamed a small “clump” of people that were behind the disturbance with the majority of those gathered not participating.

Earlier, protesters dressed in replica hazmat suits were evicted from the conference’s registration desk after criticising Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s stance on nuclear energy.

Liberal members boo as Michelle Bishop acknowledges land of traditional owners on which NSW Liberal state convention is occurring

Liberal Party members and supporters watched on as a group of men entered the conference lobby in Sydney, claiming to be Mr Dutton.

A video uploaded to the South Coast Labour Council Facebook page showed two men dressed in white full-body suits with the radiation hazard symbols and signs reading “Dutton MP for Fukushima” and “Nukes ‘R’ Us”.

“We have a special announcement from the leader of the opposition, Member for Fukushima, Peter Dutton,” one protester said about the disruption.

Protesters entered the NSW Liberal Party conference lobby in Sydney on Saturday pretending to be the Opposition Leader. Photo: Facebook.

Protesters escorted from NSW Liberal Party conference in Sydney shouting “Nukes ‘R’ Us”. Photo: Facebook.

Disgruntled members off camera could be heard yelling “p*** off” to the group of men as they continued their performance.

The men spent minutes declaring their support for nuclear energy and opposition to a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine Israel conflict before they were escorted out of the conference chanting “Nukes ‘R’ Us, Nukes ‘R’ Us.”

The South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said the impromptu demonstration on Saturday was a bit of “mischievous fun” and a stand against any proposed installation of nuclear reactors in the South Coast region.

“Whilst Dutton and Barnaby [Joyce] have done their best to divide the Illawarra and Hunter communities with their misinformation about windfarms – everyone now knows his save the whales line was b******t,” Mr Rorris said.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton spoke at the conference after the protest. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker.

He was given a hearty welcome. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

“If he seriously thinks he is going to scare our regions into accepting nuclear reactors on our beaches he’s not listening.

“Today’s impromptu appearance was to tell the Libs if they want to come down to our backyard and have some mischievous fun – we will come up to their backyard and return the favour.”

Following the protest, Mr Dutton took the podium to outline his plan to “start a conversation” about nuclear energy in Australia.

He said most Australians didn’t understand the basics of nuclear energy, which he argued could greatly benefit Australia if implemented correctly.

“Most people were influenced by the incidence of Chernobyl and elsewhere, some people in the research were influenced by The Simpsons,” the Opposition Leader said.

“If you’ve watched The Simpsons, some of the research work demonstrated that people didn’t want a Springfield going up in their backyard.”

Mr Dutton was critical of the government’s recent energy schemes, saying the Australian taxpayer will be “on the hook for years” as a result of mismanagement.

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Originally published as Liberals boo as speaker acknowledges the land of traditional owners at conference