Stolenwealth Games indigenous protesters heading to Carrara to target Opening Ceremony
THREE people, including former youth detainee Dylan Voller, have been charged after a violent confrontation outside Carrara Stadium as indigenous protesters tried to force their way in to the Games Opening Ceremony.
Gold Coast
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THREE people have been charged after a violent confrontation outside Carrara Stadium as indigenous protesters tried to force their way in to the Games Opening Ceremony.
A 20-year-old Northern Territory former youth detainee Dylan Voller was charged with one count of public nuisance and is due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on May 3.
Two Queensland women aged 21 and 30 were both charged with one count each of public nuisance. The women are due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on April 23.
Half a dozen indigenous protesters tried to storm the gates to the opening ceremony at Carrara at about 7.30pm.
They waited for half an hour for tickets they claimed were purchased for them by the Land Council.
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The group was pushed back by police while shouting “no justice, no games”.
Then the scene turned ugly with a number of protesters lashing out a police.
Some protesters said “don’t shoot, don’t shoot” as they struggled with police who tried to subdue them.
Just as things calmed down again an arrested protester kicked off the chant again, encouraging the larger group.
The protesters where greeted by a heavy police presence as crowd numbers swelled ahead of the Games’ opening night spectacle.
On the biggest night of the Games, they protesters sent out a loud message.
“We are here to show the world that Aboriginal Australia has come to reclaim what is rightfully ours,” Albert Hartnett shouted through a megaphone.
“Our law is our law, our law is the first law and that can never be broken.”
Protesters said they would chant “we say murder. They say justice”, until 10pm.
Hundreds of protesters marched along Broadbeach-Nerang Road, finishing on the soccer fields across from the stadium.
A solid wall of police officers blocked the protesters with some testing the waters trying to defy orders and protrude through the boundary.
Police used their powers to shuffle the hordes of people along, while keeping the peace.
Earlier protesters halted the path of the baton on The Spit just after 12.30pm and refused to move before finally dispersing.
More than 50 protesters formed a human ‘chain’ across SeaWorld Drive to block the baton completing its journey to the end of The Spit.
Baton bearers and officials were forced to stop in their tracks while police negotiated with protesters.
Wearing shirts and holding signs declaring “No Justice, No Games”, the group is protesting the colonisation of Australia.
It says the royal family — represented by Charles and Camilla, who touched down a short time ago — must ask to be on “stolen” Australian land.
“Today what we wanted to do was to make it clear to the mob, make it clear to the world and make it clear to our people that we’re standing strong,” a protester told Channel 7.
“And we don’t want nothing of the Commonwealth here. They’ve stolen the land, built this country on stolen wages, built this country on the blood and bones of our people.
“And it’s about time that history is acknowledged and about time that the royal families who are responsible for it all — that they come down here and get at our level and ask to be here on our country. That’s what needs to happen.”
Earlier today, Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told media the police and protesters had been co-operating and were “in a pretty good space” with them.
“We’ve already had some protest activity yesterday which everyone saw was publicised quite well,” he said.
“We were very pleased with that, it was done in accordance with the agreement that we had in place with the groups that were protesting.
“They were able to have their say and get their message out, and do it in a way that didn’t disrupt the community and didn’t cause us any concerns.
ng, and there would be many more demonstrations over the coming 11 days.
Cars moving through where protestors are along Queen’s Baton Relay route @7NewsBrisbane #7CommGames #7News pic.twitter.com/bqBskUiYxI
— Marlina Whop (@MarlinaWhop) April 4, 2018
“Certainly there’s going to be more — there’s more protest activity planned for today and we’re confident that will be done in a way that will minimise the amount of impact that it has on the broader community as well as the people attending the Games.
“We think we’re in a pretty good space with that.”
Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said the organisation welcomed peaceful protests.
“I think that’s something that’s not extraordinary to the Gold Coast and it’s a human right,” he said.
With no progress the baton team decided to cancel the leg at the end of The Spit and do laps of SeaWorld Drv.
Some baton bearers were left stranded at the end of The Spit, but emergency services have managed to get them through.
It is believed they will be part of the new legs up and down the area between the protest and SeaWorld.
About 1.15pm the protesters dispersed from the roadway and set up under a marquee in Doug Jennings Park.
A female protester said the display was to protest Adani and other decisions made by the State Government.
She said this was just the beginning.
Protester Aunty Pat Leavy said the message was no uranium dumps in Australia.
”They promised jobs, we got nothing,” she said.
”You need to start thinking about the sacred site here and what people want to do here (the spit) with putting a cruise port in.
”Every government minister has failed in his duty of care.
”Today is about letting people know we will be protesting all week.
”The Queen’s Baton, it represents the Commonwealth, they think we’re part of the Commonwealth ... but we’re not.
”We want to be recognised as the sovereign owners of this land. ”
The baton will then go via boat to the Broadwater Parklands as planned.
The group set up camp opposite the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony at Carrara today from 3pm in a bid to take their message to the world.
The Stolenwealth Games Protest is being organised by a national committee that includes members of the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) and the Brisbane Aboriginal-Sovereign Embassy.
PROTESTERS TO HIGHLIGHT INDIGENOUS ISSUES AT GAMES
The protest will see indigenous people from throughout the country and overseas converge at Birmingham Rd, on the corner of Nerang Broadbeach Road, from 3pm today.
“Setting up the kitchen so we can feed all you mob some proppa tucker,” a post on the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy’s Facebook page on the weekend said.
The post was accompanied by a picture of the base camp being built at Doug Jennings Park, at The Spit.
Buses will ferry protesters the Doug Jennings Park camp site to a vacant block of land on the corner “right outside Metricon Stadium” for today’s protest.
Thousands of people are expected to participate in a series of Stolenwealth Games protests across the Coast from today until the Games end on April 15.
PROTESTERS HAVE BEEN ‘GEARING UP’ FOR GAMES
Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) chief executive Mark
Peters said his organisation, police and the local Yugambeh clan had been advised of the protest plans.
Mr Peters said the protests were expected to be respectful and would be tolerated so long as they were lawful and don’t impact on athletes or spectators.
“There are other groups as well because this is the stage where people can be heard and that is what happens around major events, whether it’s on the Gold Coast or anywhere else around the world,” he said.
Indigenous protests at Australian Commonwealth Games are not uncommon.
Protests occurred at the 2006 Melbourne Games while in 1982 about 2000 marched in Brisbane to draw attention to aboriginal rights.
Originally published as Stolenwealth Games indigenous protesters heading to Carrara to target Opening Ceremony
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