Health Minister Natasha Fyles urges caution in lead up to Black Lives Matter rally
TERRITORIANS planning on attending Darwin’s Black Lives Matters rally this weekend have been urged to think of ‘different ways’ to stand in solidarity in light of social distancing requirements
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TERRITORIANS planning on attending Darwin’s Black Lives Matters rally this weekend have been urged to think of “different ways” to stand in solidarity with indigenous deaths in custody and brutality at the hands of police.
Health Minister Natasha Fyles on Tuesday urged protesters to be mindful that the world was still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic but did not denounce the event.
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“I think people organising those events do need to be conscious of the guidelines around public events,” she said.
“But what I’m saying is their voice is important and their voice matters.”
It is understood the organisers of Darwin’s rally have been working to ensure safety, including social distancing and hygiene by having hand sanitiser available.
NT Police said they respected people’s rights to protest.
A police spokesman said any enforcement action would depend on the nature of the breach, including risk to public health and order.
It comes as Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the government would be closely monitoring the rate of community transmission that occurred as a result of the mass protests held in southern states at the weekend.
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Mr Gunner has previously said the main concern for the NT was community transmission in Victoria and NSW, and the unprecedented size of the Black Lives Matter rallies in those state would be a test of how prevalent coronavirus is in the general population.
“It’ll take about 10 days, I asked for advice over the weekend, 10 days to see if that leads to any community transmission or spread or not,” Mr Gunner said.
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