About 1000 people rallied at Darwin’s Parliament House calling for action on crime
At the same moment the casket of slain Darwin student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman was being loaded onto a plane, NT’s parliament sat as hundreds of protesters rallied at their door. See the pics.
Northern Territory
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About 1000 protesters took to the lawns of Parliament House for Darwin’s third rally against crime Thursday afternoon, calling for action in the wake of the alleged murder of international student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman.
“Stop the violence”, “enough is enough”, “do your job”, and “you serve us” were some of the chants an often angry and emotional crowd chanted at the closed doors of the Legislative Assembly building while Question Time took place inside.
A speaker from the Bangladesh Association of Northern Territory, Chowdhury Sadaruddin, became emotional remembering the 23-year-old student who was killed last week.
“When we are gathering here for these victims and raising our voice at this moment, Sifat is getting loaded in a plane in a box,” Mr Sadaruddin said.
“Somebody sleeping in his room, in his bedroom, he’s supposed to be safe in there – that didn’t happen, and we’re failing.”
Mr Rahman died in hospital last Thursday after allegedly being attacked in his Millner sharehouse by a home intruder – the fourth person killed in three months in the Top End.
President of the Multicultural Council of the NT, Edwin Joseph, acknowledged the impact Mr Rahman’s death had on Darwin’s migrant communities, who along with Indigenous Australians, are often disproportionately victims of crime.
“Rampant violence that we have experienced over months takes a toll on everyone … on the other hand we need to acknowledge that the impact might relatively be more on migrants like Sifat who had to struggle even to find accommodation,” Dr Joseph said.
“A permanent solution may not happen overnight, but some serious measures need to be taken immediately so that people live without fear.”
Rally organisers Cobie Campbell and daughter Sade Dobson called for the Legislative Assembly to be dissolved, telling the government “you have blood on your hands”.
“I do not understand and cannot fathom how the Chief Minister can carry on without a care for the people she’s supposed to represent, we pleaded with Ms Fyles at the last two rallies to please step up and leave a legacy – what we got were lies and more lies,” Ms Campbell said.
Some vigilante sentiment tinged the gathering, with Ms Campbell spruiking Facebook groups to report crime, considering establishing neighbourhood watch groups and giving advice for self-protection.
“Remember, be wary of what you say, police will use your words against you,” she told the crowd.
“If you have to protect yourself or loved ones be prepared for the aftermath, but remember it’s better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by six.”
When Ms Dobson led a chant, ‘give power to the people’, someone yelled ‘and shotguns’, drawing cheers from the crowd.
Speaking in parliament just metres away from where the protest was taking place, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said her government was “tackling crime, and tackling the sources of crime”.
“There is more police on the beat than ever before, there is more consequences for crime than ever before and there is more investment in the things that prevent crime than ever before,” Ms Fyles said.
“We have continued to provide the resources to tackle these issues. We are part of our communities, we are angry, we are frustrated,” she said.
Speaking before the rally, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro called on the government to do more and stop “ignoring” community cries.
“People want change, they hate seeing the Territory we know and love descend into this chaos, and the time is now for Natasha Fyles to do something differently,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
Palmerston resident Stephen Jones attended the rally with his mother, Lois.
It was the first anti-crime rally he had been to and he was there because “things are getting pretty bad” but said he “didn’t envy” politicians trying to address the Territory’s crime crisis.
“It’s a very complicated issue, and I think it’s well beyond their (politicians’) paygrade, because it comes into health, social capital and social services … what do you do?”
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Earlier: ‘Our hearts hurt’: Declan Laverty’s mum reaches out to Bangladeshi community
The grieving mother of slain bottle shop worker Declan Laverty has reached out to the family of a Bangladeshi student who was also the victim of an allegedly murder.
Samara Laverty said she and her family were still devastated after her son’s tragic passing in March and were horrified by news of more violent crime in the Top End.
Since the Darwin community was rattled by the 20-year-old’s death, a woman has been fatally stabbed and CDU student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman died after he was allegedly attacked in his own home.
“For the Bangladeshi community, our hearts hurt along with you,” Ms Laverty said.
“This should not ever have happened, I am grieving along with his parents and family and the entire community.
“This young man was in the prime of his life, heading towards his dream goals and his life was brutally ended.”
Ms Laverty said she would be attending the Top End’s next anti-crime rally on Thursday, where she is expected to speak.
“This rally is to express the anger the community has for the out of control crime,” she said.
“I want to speak to provide my support for change, and a change that needs to happen soon.
“I do recognise that legislation changes are not easy, but they need to be started.”
Ms Laverty said she hoped to see the sort of change in the Territory that would prevent more families from experiencing similar tragedies.
“When Declan died, I did not want any other parent to have to receive the phone call that their child had lost their life at the hands of another,” she said.
The third anti-crime rally in as many months will take place in front of Parliament House at 2pm on Thursday.
Protesters are expected to gather while the NT Legislative Assembly is in question time.
It is the first of the rallies to take place during parliamentary sittings.
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