Indigenous activist claims Sydney Yes rally was “lacking First Nations People” as he condemns Voice
An estimated 200,000 Aussies gathered across the nation over the weekend to show their support for the Voice - but one Aboriginal activist claims something was missing.
A radical Indigenous activist has slammed rallies by the Yes side that took place across the country as “lacking First Nations Australians”.
Less than four weeks out from the referendum, 40 campaign marches took place across Australia in support of a constitutionally-enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament.
Police estimate around 30,000 people attended a rally in Melbourne on Sunday while up to 15,000 took to the streets of Sydney despite the weekend heat.
Bruce Shillingsworth, 32, who has created his own alternative police force “to take control through power, jurisdiction and authority of tribal lands”, was spotted at the rally in Sydney.
The controversial figure claimed in a clip filmed during the rally at Redfern Park that there were “just a few First Nations brothers and sisters here”.
He said the rallies were reflective of “nice non-Indigenous people thinking they have the right to speak for First Nations people”.
He later told news.com.au that the lack of First Nations people at the rally “stuck out like a sore thumb”.
He said it was particularly concerning given Redfern, where the rally started, is home to a high number of Indigenous Australians.
“It’s a bit of a surprise,” he said.
Shillingsworth described the Voice as an “illogical way of moving forward”.
“I know that it needs to be done in a different way,” he said.
Indigenous leaders speak to thousands
Despite Shillingsworth’s claims, a string of Indigenous elders appeared at various major rallies over the weekend to show their support for the Yes campaign.
In Canberra, Ngunnawal elder Aunty Violet Sheridan said the referendum was about “respect and justice”, not politics.
“This isn’t about the past, it’s about the future,” she said.
“Let’s ensure that our stories, our land, our voices are respected and valued.
“Our voices deserve to be heard in the decisions that shape our lives, the lives of our children, our grandchildren.”
In Melbourne, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney admitted she was close to tears during an emotional plea to a heaving crowd.
“It is truly overwhelming to look out over this crowd and see you. To know where your hearts are, to know where your spirit lives. And that you, like us, want to embrace this opportunity to move this country forward together,” she said.
“Each and every one of you can help answer the call from generations of Indigenous people, seeking to be recognised and seeking to be heard.
“For 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been speaking 363 languages, but no voice. In 27 days, you have the power to do something about it.”
Australians are answering the invitation from Indigenous Australians through the Uluru Statement.
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) September 17, 2023
They’re saying Yes to recognition.
Yes to a better future.
And on October 14, Yes to the Voice. #yes23pic.twitter.com/maMSk272ni
In Brisbane, where 20,000 people marched from South Bank to Queens Gardens, Quandamooka woman Leeanne Enoch said the nation faced a “profound turning point”.
“So I ask all of you to continue the work that you’ve been doing: marching, talking, calling people, having the conversations so we see a yes vote ... on the 14th of October,” she said.
In Darwin, one of Australia’s greatest ever athletes-turned-politicians, Nova Peris, was in attendance.
Aboriginal activist’s controversial past
A Budjiti Muruwari man, Shillingsworth is never far from the headlines.
Earlier this month he was found guilty over his role in the blaze that caused millions of dollars in damage to Old Parliament House in December 2021.
A jury found the fire was deliberately lit as part of an anti-government protest, despite arguments it was part of a cultural ceremony.
Perhaps most noteworthy is Shillingsworth’s establishment of a ‘Tribal Lore Enforcement’ body to “maintain and protect national sovereignty”.
He frequently appears in pictures with his ‘Lore Enforcement’ uniform, which chillingly mirrors the actual NSW police uniform but is slightly darker.
He has 60,000 Facebook followers alone, and videos posted to his social media account show confrontations with police over “sovereignty” issues.
One filmed last year shows Shillingsworth arguing with police after he refused to move from Ledknapper Nature Reserve in Enngonia.
“You’re committing an offence because that land from here onwards is Muruwarri land and you should know that,” Shillingsworth said.
Shillingsworth has been a vocal opponent of the Voice to Parliament, describing it as “nothing but tokenism”.
“It goes right down into consultation,” he said.
Australians will head to the polls in less than a month to decide whether to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
In the first referendum to take place this century, voters will be asked whether they say Yes or No to a proposed advisory body called the Voice, which will speak to parliament about issues affecting Indigenous people.
While supporters say the new body will be a game changer in terms of better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, opponents argue that it is divisive and would open the door to more change.
-with Eli Green, NCA NewsWire
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