Massive crowds protest at Invasion Day rallies across Australia
Men draped in Aussie flags have clashed with Australia Day protesters, with one of them dragged to the ground before being frogmarched off by police.
Melbourne’s “invasion day” rally was marred by far-right nationalists who attempted to hold a counter rally at Federation Square.
Right wing nationalists reportedly got into a scuffle with demonstrators, with some holding Australian flags. One couple were carrying a placard reading “To defend my country was once called patriotism now it’s called racism”.
One of the flagged men was dragged to the ground before being frogmarched off by police, with another couple also moved only police shortly after.
Massive crowds have gathered today to support rallies across the country.
Swarms of people filled Hyde Park in Sydney, carrying flags and signs to protest the celebration of Australia Day. Thousands also filled the streets of Melbourne, chanting, “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land”.
Attendance in Melbourne was at record numbers with a reported 5000 gathering at Flinders Street. In Sydney police also estimated early numbers to be at 5000.
Invasion Day rallies have become an annual tradition in Australia and were scheduled in most capital cities. Attendance numbers have steadily increased year on year.
Attendance in 2018 was estimated between 27,000 and 30,000 people across the country.
These two were also moved on from the #InvasionDay rally. Her sign reads “To defend my country was once called patriotism now it’s called racism†pic.twitter.com/60IS2kfnvV
— Kaitlyn Offer (@KaitlynOffer) January 26, 2019
This year’s rallies were to have a focus on the issues of “Aboriginal youth suicide, discriminatory policing and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody,” according to co-organiser Meriki Onus, who spoke to news.com.au on behalf of Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) ahead of the event.
Ms Onus said changing the date was not of great concern to her and other organisers of the Invasion Day rallies, saying January 26 had become co-opted by “white nationalists.”
“Change the date is not something (our organisation is) fighting for or advocating. We want Australia Day to be abolished altogether,” Ms Onus explained.
“Change the Date is really something that has only come about in the public a few years ago — lets not forget either, that the date of January 26 hasn’t been around for that long — only since 1994,” she explained.
In Hyde Park there was no counter protesters, but a heavy police presence surrounded the march as it snaked through the city towards Victoria Park near the University of Sydney.
An impassioned crowd cheered along as speakers told of injustice surrounding indigenous deaths in custody, gaps in life expectancy, and the forced adoption of indigenous children.
The crowd in Sydney was greeted by family members of the late David Dungay Jr, who died while in police custody.
Mr Dungay Jr’s nephew Paul Silva gave a powerful speech about the death of his uncle and his family’s continued vow to fight for justice as an inquest continues in February.
“We’re going to fight for justice,” Mr Silva said.
“The corrupt government needs to get off their a**e and say enough is enough. Stop killing our people.”
Also in attendance were Greens Party members Jenny Leong, Mehreen Faruqi and David Shoebridge.
“This isn’t a thing of the past,” Mr Shoebridge told the crowd. “I’ve seen law after law change, to steal Aboriginal kids, to put them in custody, to (mine) their land and spoil their country,” he said, highlighting the passing of laws in 2018 that now allow for adoption without the consent of a parent.
This can be enforced upon any child within the foster care system and Aboriginal leaders have said this will unfairly effect their community.
Speakers at the march were not “media people” but people on the “front line” who are being affected by these issues important to indigenous Australians, one of the organisers, Ken Canning told news.com.au.
Crowds jeered at the mention of Scott Morrison with calls to reallocate planned spending made the creation of a replica of Captain Cook’s famous ship the Endeavour to circumnavigate Australia. The project is set to coast $6.7 million.
“The sad side about it is that $7 million could have gone a long way for justice for our people,” said co-organiser Ken Canning. “Not some idiotic notion that a politician has about something that never happened.”
Mr Morrison was criticised online when it was pointed out that Captain Cook never circumnavigated Australia.
“In Canberra they like the power. They like that they can get up every morning and say whatever they like, and people will believe (them).”
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land #InvasionDay pic.twitter.com/BFtAoSHbEz
— Emily van der Nagel (@emvdn) January 26, 2019
Large crowd gathers at Hyde Park in Sydney as the Invasion Day rally kicks off. #AustraliaDay2019 #InvasionDay2019 #AlwaysWillBe pic.twitter.com/RVWeTxI8Ox
— Allison Hore (@AllisonM_H) January 26, 2019
Invasion Day protests are a relatively new phenomenon but have experienced explosive support across the country since leaders decided to “have a meeting” after demonstrations in 2015 attracted 400 people.
The following year, the organisers banded together and Invasion Day rallies experienced a massive jump in attendance from 400 to 6000 across the country. The following year in 2017, attendance was at 12,000.
About 600 people started their day at the Melbourne Invasion Day dawn service, acknowledging and mourning the frontier wars and Aboriginal massacres.
The service at Kings Domain — where the bodies of 38 Victorian first nations people are buried — included speeches, a minute’s silence, a smoking and ochre ceremony and the reading out of known massacre sites across the state.
“This country stops for a horse race, it stops for an AFL grand final, it stops for the Queen’s birthday and it stops for an Anzac service and we don’t have ever a time where this country stands still to reflect on first peoples of this country and the pain and suffering we’ve endured since colonisation,” said Gunnai-Kurnai and Gunditjmara woman and former Northcote MP Lidia Thorpe.
Protests today have even travelled as far as the UK, with an “Abolish Australia Day” sign seen draped over the Westminster Bridge in London.
About 30 protesters held the banner off the bridge as throngs of tourists walked by on a cold and cloudy Friday afternoon.
London Australia Solidarity Activism Hub spokeswoman Eda Sehyan said the action was in solidarity with Australia’s indigenous people.
Huge turnout for Invasion day protest in Sydney! #AustraliaDay #changethedate #ChangeTheNation #invasionday2019 pic.twitter.com/IBgUN5PGIm
— Chat (@atatat236) January 26, 2019
History: “why don’t people get it?†“Our old people declared today a Day of Mourningâ€. “Care for people and care for country: this is a major part of our law†pic.twitter.com/OXTIPhNpds
— Marcia Langton (@marcialangton) January 25, 2019
When #invasionday protests dwarf #AustraliaDay celebrate you know it's time to #changethenation #auspol pic.twitter.com/cOdYeD2Rmn
— Sam Cossar (@samcossar) January 26, 2019
People have commented how Invasion Day protests are dwarfing Australia Day celebrations, indicating it is time to change the date.
It’s a divisive issue that comes up every year, with The Project host Waleed Aly this week throwing up new suggestions.
This January 26 marks 231 years since the First Fleet landed in Port Jackson.
But for a growing community of Australians the day has become a symbol of inequity and institutionalised harm.
Invasion Day activists contest that Australia Day enforces a false narrative of an Australia that began on this day, and forgets a preceding history.
— with AAP
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