Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following:

(1) the Member for Curtin immediately moving a motion relating to the Boorloo (Perth) bombing attack;

(2) debate on the motion continuing immediately;

(3) no amendment to the motion being permitted; and

(4) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Nicolette Boele (Bradfield, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I second the motion.

Question agreed to.

Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1) condemns the attempted bombing on January 26 in Boorloo (Perth) that targeted First Peoples and their supporters;

(2) notes that the Western Australia Joint Counter Terrorism Team, consisting of the Western Australia Police Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, is investigating the incident as a potential terrorist act;

(3) acknowledges the serious harm this has caused and expresses its solidarity with all those impacted by this event;

(4) further notes that an attack against First Nations people is an attack against all Australians;

(5) notes that for many First Nations people, January 26 is a day of mourning and that an attack on this day, at an Invasion Day rally, represents a serious escalation of racial violence against First Peoples;

(6) further condemns all acts of violence and racism against First Peoples, and stands in solidarity with First Peoples against rising racism and hate directed at them;

(7) affirms that this Parliament's recent condemnation of racially motivated hatred unambiguously includes racism directed at First Peoples;

(8) further notes that the Federal Government has a duty to equally protect all people in this country from racism, discrimination, hate speech and the threat of racially motivated violence;

(9) further acknowledges that First Peoples in Australia continue to face entrenched racism, racially-motivated hate and threats of violence, and that any instance of this is unacceptable and must be addressed; and

(10) calls for governments to continue to take urgent action to address racism, discrimination, hate speech and violence against First Peoples.

I thank the House for allocating this time in the parliamentary schedule to discuss this motion, and I thank Senator Thorpe for preparing the words of this motion. This is the first sitting day since the incident at Forrest Place occurred, and it is so important that we acknowledge it, reflect on it and offer support to those affected.

On 26 January, a peaceful Invasion Day rally in the heart of Perth was violently targeted in what police are now treating as a potential terrorist act. A homemade explosive device, a bomb, was thrown into a crowd of people—families, young people, elders, community leaders—who were simply exercising their democratic right to gather, listen and be heard. We now know that only luck prevented a mass casualty tragedy.

An attack on a peaceful protest strikes at the core of our democracy. Our system depends on people being able to express views, including uncomfortable ones, without fear of violence or intimidation. This is not a privilege; it's a cornerstone of our democracy. Any act intended to frighten people away from participating in public debate is an act that threatens the health of our civic culture.

We must also recognise the particular context of this event. This rally was attended predominantly by First Nations people and those who stand in solidarity with them.

First Nations communities continue to face systemic racism and marginalisation which shapes how this incident is understood and felt. Violence does not occur in a vacuum. It lands differently on communities already carrying the weight of intergenerational trauma and ongoing inequity. Jim Morrison, Noongar elder and head of Yokai, reminded me today that not long ago Aboriginal people were not allowed to gather in the city of Perth. They were not permitted past Newcastle Street. That context makes it even more important that we fiercely protect the right of First Nations people to gather and protest in our streets.

At a time when the strength of our social fabric is being tested in so many ways, maintaining social cohesion has never been more important. Acts like this don't just harm individuals; they undermine people's sense of belonging and safety. When a marginalised group is targeted, the ripple effect extends far beyond those who are physically present. People begin to question whether they feel safe participating in public life, in gathering, in advocating or even just in being visible. After an attack like this, it is so important that the parliament sends a clear message that attacks on First Nations people, as with attacks on any Australians, will not be tolerated and will be pursued with the full force of the law.

For many Australians, particularly First Nations people, 26 January is not a day of celebration but a day of reflection, grief and remembrance. It's a reminder of dispossession and the enduring impacts of colonisation. That a violent act occurred during a peaceful gathering on that difficult day only heightened the sense of distress. Last week I spoke with a constituent who attended the rally. He shared with me the confusion and fear that swept through the crowd. He explained how profoundly vulnerable they felt. They were doing something entirely lawful and peaceful, yet suddenly they felt like targets. They did not understand why they were being asked to move, and the traumatic history of relations between Aboriginal people and police made them fearful and suspicious.

Many in my community have also expressed concern about the limited mainstream visibility of the incident and the dismissal of racism as a factor. When a serious act of violence that appears to have targeted a racial group receives minimal national attention, it raises legitimate questions about consistency in how we perceive threats, how we categorise them and how we respond. Australians want to trust that violence is condemned wherever it occurs and whoever the victims are. That consistency is essential to building and maintaining social cohesion.

I welcome the joint investigation by WA police, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, and I urge those involved in the investigation to act with urgency. Their coordinated effort is vital to ensure the full circumstances of this shocking incident are understood and that appropriate charges are pursued using the full range of federal and state offences that apply. But as important as law enforcement is, our response cannot stop there. We must consider what this incident means for social cohesion in Australia. Cohesion is not something we can take for granted. It requires leadership that brings people together, that encourages understanding and shared purpose and that resists attempts to inflame or divide.

Violence aimed at supressing participation has no place in our democracy, and neither does indifference. We have a responsibility to acknowledge harm and to stand with all communities who feel targeted or unsafe. We also have a responsibility to commit ourselves to a more cohesive future, one where differences are aired respectfully and where all Australians feel they can participate freely in our shared civic life. For these reasons, I commend to the House the motion to condemn the attempted bombing, to acknowledge the serious harm that this has caused, to stand in solidarity with the First Nations people affected by this attack and to condemn all acts of violence and racism against First Nations people and all people.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and I rise to speak in support of it. I unequivocally condemn the horrendous attack against peaceful protesters marching in Boorloo/Perth on 26 January and acknowledge the deep fear, anger and grief that this attack has caused, particularly for Indigenous people but also for Australians right across the country. For decades, protests on 26 January, often referred to as Invasion Day marches, have been held every year. This year, in capital cities and regional towns alike, tens of thousands of people gathered peacefully. They gathered to recognise the suffering of Indigenous Australians, the enduring impacts of colonialisation, the trauma of stolen generations, ongoing racism and the devastating reality of deaths in custody.

In Boorloo, around 2,500 people came together peacefully. Families were there. Children were there. People were marching peacefully to express their support for Indigenous Australians, exercising a fundamental democratic right and calling on the government to do better. At approximately 12.40, it is alleged that a homemade explosive device was thrown into that crowd, landing among women and children. By sheer luck, it did not detonate. This was not a hoax bomb. This explosive was reportedly packed with ball bearings and nails to deliberately inflict maximum injury and death in that peaceful crowd of families. This bomb reportedly failed only because of a faulty fuse. The thought of what could have happened is horrifying. Police confirmed that, had this bomb exploded, this could have been a mass casualty event. It should not be an image that any community has to imagine, and it should stop every one of us in our tracks. Tragically, Australians now find it easier to imagine the horror of terrorism. Many Australians are understandably afraid that hatred has motivated another attack—this time on the Invasion Day protest.

Australia is a nation woven from many sources. First Australians trace their history on this continent back 70,000 years, but most Australian families have come to this place through migration. The strength of Australia is, to paraphrase Noel Pearson, braided from ancient Indigenous history and culture, British institutions and multicultural achievement. Binding us together is a shared tolerance that accepts the rights of all to practise their faith, enjoy their culture and express their opinions in a way that accepts difference and acknowledges the reciprocal rights of others. This attack on this march was not just an attack on a protest. It was an attack on our shared values; on the right to gather peacefully without fear, hatred, racism or violence motivated by racial hatred; and on the safety of Indigenous Australians to simply stand together in a public space.

I welcome the fact that the Western Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team is now investigating this incident as a potential terrorist attack. That acknowledgement matters because it reflects the seriousness of what occurred. But acknowledgement is not enough. Differences of opinion are inevitable. For some, 26 January is a day of mourning; for others, it is a day to come together and celebrate. We must make room for both. I am a very proud Australian, but I recognise that, for many Indigenous Australians, the celebration of Australia Day is a painful reminder of the impact of colonisation on their people. For some Australians, the Invasion Day protests are an affront to their national pride. But we must accept these differences and recognise the importance of the rights of all to express their views. This is something I think all Australians can unite on.

We and everyone in this country should be able to gather peacefully without any threat or fear of violence. We cannot tolerate those who turn difference into extremism and violence. We must ensure that free speech does not become an excuse for speech intended to generate hate and excuse violence. We must ensure that we have effective deradicalisation programs in place to steer vulnerable people away from radicalisation. We must ensure that our police and security forces have the necessary tools to prevent this violence before it happens. Those protections must extend to all Australians, including, absolutely fundamentally, our Indigenous Australians and their allies, who were targeted at the Invasion Day rally in Boorloo/Perth. We must act. We must stand with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and we must ensure that no-one in this country is made to fear for their life simply for exercising their democratic rights.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 26 January, people gathered in Boorloo, in Forrest Place in Perth. It's been the home of democratic expression in my electorate for more than a century. What followed was the most abhorrent attempted attack on people simply exercising their democratic rights. This was an attack on First Nations people. This was an attack on all Australians. Indeed, it was an attack on our democracy. This was a potential terrorist act designed to cause significant harm, to cause fear and to kill our fellow Australians. A weapon was thrown into the crowd: a homemade explosive device that was there to kill and harm innocent civilians. That breaks my heart. Any attempt to attack or intimidate First Nations Australians is completely unacceptable, and this indeed was a direct attack on the social cohesion which we treasure here in Australia. There is no place for hate, intimidation or racism in our country. It's not the sort of country that we are and it's not the direction in which we will head, because our democratic rights, whether for First Nations Australians or our newest Australians, are fundamental to who we are. Democracy must never be met with threats of violence or threats of terrorist acts.

I'm so grateful that this parliament didn't have to deal with a condolence motion as the first item of business when we gathered today. I'm grateful that we've not had to have leaders and colleagues come and lay flowers in Forrest Place and that we have not had to attend funerals—but there is significant hurt in my electorate and across this country because what happened was potentially devastating for many of our fellow Australians.

I want to talk a little bit about the crowd. This was not just a crowd; they were treasured members of my community, gathered in our peaceful town square. Noongar people have stood on and cared for that land for 45,000 years. At the event we had First Nations leaders and Australians from all walks of life. Young people were at this gathering, engaging in public debate. Friends and neighbours jumped on trains to attend a rally that's been happening in Perth for many decades. We had parents pushing their kids in prams. When I was a kid in a pram, my parents used to take me to Aboriginal land rights marches through the streets of Perth. Back then, there were horrible chants. As a baby, I was spat on for attending those marches with my parents.

This was a thousand times worse. This was an attack on people who were simply having their say. It was not just a crowd; it was our community. It was Australia. This location, for those who don't know, sits between Perth's two CBD train stations—next to what we call the 'Cactus', a big piece of art in our city. Every day, 200,000 people go into Perth to work, to study and to spend time together. And that's why I thank the member for Curtin—because the Perth CBD belongs to all Australians. It is Australia's west-coast capital. It is where visitors come for tourism. It's our cultural capital, our nightlife capital, our business capital and a retail and hospitality hub. And I don't think there's any Western Australian who hasn't at some point found themselves in that very location. It's important that this motion passes through this House—and I also want to thank the member for Wentworth for seconding it—because it sends a very powerful message across this country.

Our government has stood firm in condemning this disgusting attack. I first put out a statement just hours afterwards, thanking police and first responders, when details were still very unclear. But what was clear even then was the vile nature of this act.

I want to again thank the WA police and, equally, the members of the public who spoke out when something didn't seem right—when they saw this explosive device thrown into the crowd. And I say, to all Australians: we all have a responsibility. If you have information that can keep your fellow citizens safe, please take action. Don't wait until it's too late. The National Security Hotline is there for all Australians on 1800123400, or there is Crime Stoppers on 1800333000.

Shortly after this happened, I said to our First Nations community in Perth, 'I stand with you.' That commitment has not wavered. I stand with that community. And I stand with those who seek to uphold our democratic freedoms, even when, as has been said very well by other speakers, people are putting forward views that don't sit with our own. I've said very clearly that I want to see our town square in the Perth CBD be a place where people can express their views in the democratic traditions we've had since Federation. As the investigation continues, I hold firm in that view.

On 28 January, it was announced that the Western Australian Joint Counter Terrorism Team would investigate this attack as a potential terrorist act. I thank WA police, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation for their continued efforts in this regard. I also note in this place that I've had a number of conversations with WA police commissioner Col Blanch. He's continually briefed me on the situation, and I thank him for that and thank his team, who have been working incredibly hard following this incident. I met with him again today, and yesterday I was briefed by the deputy commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Hilda Sirec. Today I also met with Minister Reece Whitby, the WA police minister, as part of the ongoing work across Commonwealth and the state to make sure that this is a full, thorough investigation. We await the outcomes of the work that's underway.

The WA government has shared in our commitment to keeping Perth the peaceful and vibrant city it has long been. In the words of Premier Roger Cook:

… we must also recommit ourselves to making sure that we maintain a peaceful and safe community, doing everything we can …

Indeed, we are doing everything we can.

I also note that the Prime Minister firmly and clearly said, the day after the incident:

This was an incident that is quite shocking. He's been charged with two serious offences and I look forward to him being prosecuted to the full force of the law.

I couldn't agree more.

I put on record my thanks to Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, who has engaged extensively with First Nations communities across Australia. As other speakers have noted, the hurt is real not just in Boorloo but across this country. Minister McCarthy said:

I have heard from Elders who met with the West Australian Police Commissioner. They have been briefed on what took place on the day at the rally. They were certainly very pleased to be a part of that briefing. The WA Police are working closely with them to keep them informed.

The response, while ongoing, has been clear. We've got law enforcement officials, the WA government and the Commonwealth government sharing a determination to keep Perth safe, to keep First Nations Australians safe and to keep our democracy safe from those who seek to harm it.

Nicolette Boele (Bradfield, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the member for Curtin's motion, and I rise also to ask: what does it say about our democracy when we seem to have two sets of standards for protecting citizens from hate? We had a violent start to the modern Australian nation, and we have made some but very little progress on making good on that—little progress politically, institutionally, economically and culturally. Let's not forget report after report showing that we're not adequately closing the gap. We don't have an ATSIC, and we don't have a voice to parliament or a permanent way to have solid representation in this parliament of the hundreds of First Nations that make up Australia. We continue to stand by whilst the states and territories pass laws to allegedly address crime but which have the practical effect of discriminating, targeting young First Peoples offenders and institutionalising them in harsh, cruel cells and detention centres with little regard for their cultural, social and economic needs. We essentially add to their harm rather than help remove it.

Last week, we watched as people with hate in their hearts and harm in their hands hurled a bomb into a crowd of people peacefully demonstrating—as they have for years on 26 January, as is their right, as is everyone's right in this precious but increasingly precarious democracy. Let me be clear: just as in Bondi, Sydney, where the target was Jewish people, in Forrest Place, Perth, the target was our First Peoples. This is a hate crime on the basis of race, of othering. Sadly, it felt to me that the hate shown against First Peoples on this day wasn't as seriously considered as the hate shown to others, and, therefore, that a strong response by our institutions wasn't as swift and wasn't as warranted. Let's be clear: hate on anyone in this country is hate on all of us. My message is: how our institutions, the media, the intelligence agencies and people in this place respond matters. Responding appropriately when this hate crime happened in Perth was not about protecting the weak and vulnerable. This is about acknowledging that everyone is equal before the law and within our communities, and it's all of our responsibility to ensure that this is so. When we don't speak up for our children, for all of our brothers and sisters, we're letting down the entire family, our Australian family.

With every thought, word and action—or lack of action—we are creating a permissive environment where this hate can continue and even thrive. And hate can't be solved with more hate. We need to grow understanding and courage and we need to make tangible progress. That starts with calling out hate every time wherever it occurs. It means applying the levers at our disposal—all of them—to match the wrongdoing. It means making sure that our lawmakers and enforcers, our commentators and our leaders, start to see that hate actually harms people. No matter what the colour of your skin, the God you worship or who you love, we are all entitled to the freedoms and securities of the person who lives next door to us, across the road or across the country. When we pass laws that lead to the clean-up of institutional behaviours that harm rather than nurture those who need us to have their backs, we start to replace the hate with care. We replace blame with responsibility. We replace 'them' with 'us'—'all of us'.

I strongly urge the government to adequately resource its own anti-racism framework that it commissioned in 2024. It's good. It may help. I'm really sorry that this has happened in our community across the country. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about something that is so important. We can do better, we must do better and we get this done by working together. That's why I commend the member for Curtin's motion to the House.

Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion confronts us with a truth that should unsettle every person in this chamber. Racial violence against First Nations people in Australia is not hypothetical, it is not historical and it is not isolated. It remains a real and present threat. The attempted bombing in Boorloo/Perth on 26 January was not just an attack on a peaceful protest; it was an attack on First People who were asserting their identity, their history and their right to gather on a day that to them marks a day of dispossession. That this incident is now being investigated as a possible act of terrorism is appropriate but also deeply alarming. It speaks to the seriousness of the threat that we are now all confronting.

Violence motivated by racial hate has no place in Australia. Many of us spoke to this fact, and we tried to legislate to that effect in this place last month. But words of condemnation, while necessary, are insufficient. When acts of racial violence occur and are not met with immediate, visible, decisive action by police forces and by government, they don't fade; they metastasise. An attack against First Nations people is an attack on all Australians. This is not a political slogan; it is a statement of fact. Our country and our culture rest on the principle that no group should live in fear because of who they are. When that principle is breached for one community, it is weakened for all of us.

For many First Nations people, 26 January is a day of mourning. As a country, we should have the heart and the maturity to respect that fact. To target a non-violent Invasion Day rally with an act of violence represents a deliberate attempt to intimidate and to silence. That's why this motion matters and why the response to it must be more than just the sum of the words that we speak here today.

What happened in Perth on 26 January didn't happen in isolation. Months earlier, after the March for Australia rally in September, Neo-Nazi protesters in Melbourne openly attacked a camp which was asserting Indigenous sovereignty. These were not covert acts. They were carried out in public in broad daylight with symbols and chants that left no ambiguity about their intent. But the response from authorities from both Victoria Police and from the AFP has been slow and opaque. Five months after this act of violence, we're still waiting on investigations to be completed and charges to be issued.

For First Nations people from Victoria and their allies, the message has been unmistakeable: expressions of white supremacist intimidation can occur in the open in the heart of our city without immediate consequence. That perception is corrosive. It emboldens extremists. It deepens fears in people who have already been subjected to entrenched racism for generations.

The federal government has a duty to protect all people in this country from racism, discrimination, hate speech and the threat of racially motivated violence. That duty doesn't end in statements. It requires coordination with the states. It requires the enforcement of policing standards. It requires the disruption of organised extremist networks and a willingness to name Neo-Nazism for what it is: an ideology of racism and violence.

First Peoples in Australia continue to face entrenched racism, threats and intimidation. This motion appropriately calls for urgent action in response. Urgent means now. It means ensuring that camps asserting sovereignty are protected, not ignored. It means ensuring that those who organise, incite or carry out racially motivated violence face consequences proportionate to the harm that they cause.

This parliament has recently and rightly condemned racially motivated hatred and extremism. That condemnation has to unambiguously include the incitement of hatred and violence towards First Nations people. So I thank the member for Curtin for moving this motion, and I join my colleagues here today in acknowledging the significance of this event and expressing solidarity with all those impacted by it.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Katter's Australian Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I've remained incredibly silent about these issues. I was the minister in Queensland for six years. The First Nations people, as they are referred to here in this place, were kind enough to name the freehold titles issued under my administration the 'Katter leases'. My son, in a meeting, said: 'Cattle leases? There are no cattle on any of these places.' I said, 'Not cattle—it's Katter, your name!'

Now, that was because I simply went out to the 24 community areas in Queensland that are blackfella areas—they're not whitefella areas; they're blackfella areas—and I said, 'What do you want us to do with the land?' Do you know what they said? We put up all the alternatives on a big board: you can have tribal ownership; you can have community ownership; you can have local government ownership; you can have private ownership, the same as all the other places in Australia—whatever you want. Over 3,000 people voted. Three voted against private ownership, and the other 3,000 voted for private ownership. They did not vote for tribal ownership.

What does this place do? It moves for tribal ownership. Well, I don't know about you, but I'd be flat-out naming all the people in my bloody family tree. They come from everywhere. I'm dark and I come from Cloncurry, so I identify as a Murri pretty often, and no-one would object to that—'Murri from the Curry'. You said that you were going to look after the land for them, right? You're going to protect nature so that it'll be kept the way it was. Well, it may have passed your knowledge that these people are starving to death. Their life expectancy in this country has slipped from 54 to 49 years of age, when the rest of us enjoy 82 years of age. If you want to know why, it's because you won't let them own property the same way everyone else on Earth owns property. The Mystery of Capital was one of the most important books written in the last half-century. The World Bank economist Hernando de Soto has said, 'The creation of capital comes from the ownership of property.'

Now, let me be very specific. There was a very great Australian. He was getting a great Australian award from the Prime Minister because he'd mustered more cattle than any other person in human history. He became the mayor of Doomadgee when he returned home from running all the cattle station camps, and he got a thousand head together. He could not own land where his family had lived for 30,000 years. There was no process by which he could own land. So he did the same as the Australians from overseas did when we came to New South Wales. We just took up the bloody land and squatted on it. That's where the word 'squatter' comes from, because all the land in New South Wales was taken up by squatters. And that's exactly what he did: 'Righto, I'm taking up this 10,000 acres'—or 20,000 acres—'It's my land. Don't set foot on it.' That's squatters rights.

He's sick of waiting for you whitefellas to do anything. He's been waiting 200 years for you whitefellas to do something for him, except for a brief period when a bloke who is referred to as a blackfella—me—said, 'What do you want?' They said, 'We want private property rights.' So I gave them property rights. I'm just an ordinary, knockabout bloke, and I think most people that know me would say that. They named the lease after me because they were so appreciative that someone listened to them—to what they wanted.

I ran into a lovely young lady and I said, 'What do you do?' She said, 'I'm in economic development.' 'Righto.' This was in Cairns. I said, 'I'm not too sure what economic development is taking place.' And she said, 'Oh, no, I do it in the'—she used these words—'Aboriginal areas.' I said: 'Righto. So what does that entail?' She said, 'I'm preserving nature for them.' Well, you're not preserving it for them, because you're not allowing them to do anything there.

They've been taking kangaroos for the last 40,000 years, and you've said they're not allowed to take kangaroos anymore. God bless Murrandoo Yanner. He had many shortcomings, did Murrandoo, but good on him for taking them to court: 'No, I've got a right to take that kangaroo, and I've had that right for 20,000 years. You whitefellas that came here have got no right to take that off me.' Good on him. That's what he did. You've taken away their right to take game. You've taken away their right to use the water. You've taken away their right to use the land.

God bless Jason Ned. The Prime Minister of Australia was going to Mount Isa to give Jason Ned a Good Australian Award—there were two other people getting that award that day; they were equally distinguished—but he died before he got the award. The point of the story is, if we want people to have a decent income and a decent way of life and some opportunity for their kids, then the First Australians are left with no alternative but to simply defy the people in this place and those in the Queensland parliament and take the land and squat on it. God bless the people that came from Europe and did that in New South Wales.

Where I come from, we probably had maybe a thousand people living in north-west Queensland, or maybe 1,500—I don't know. It's an empty land. There is a message here for everyone in this parliament, and that message comes from von Clausewitz, the greatest commentator on warfare in human history. He wrote in his book On War, 'There is one truism of history: a people without land will look for a land without people.' Go and talk to my blackfellas—you can talk to me; I'm a blackfella too—and ask how we got on with a policy that we didn't have to have a population here, how that went. Well, it went real bad for us—real, real bad for us. So what are we doing now? If you take out a little, tiny strip around the coastline, about 120 kilometres wide, and a little dot around Perth, there's no-one living here. I represent half of Australia's water run-off. I get all the great rivers of Australia in the Kennedy electorate except the Murray-Darling. We're not using any of that water—we are; we're using 0.2 per cent of that water—we're not using it. What right have we got to do that when a thousand million people are going to bed hungry every night? Do you think the rest of the world is going to continue to accept this?

When we stand up today and talk about racism in this country, it takes many forms. I don't want to be disrespectful to my colleagues, but, when you start looking after us because we're blackfellas, we start to get a little bit toey, we blackfellas, because we don't want to be different. The whole idea is we just want to be ordinary Australians.

Where I come from, my father was in partnership with a bloke who owned a very big cattle station. He was a First Australian. They owned three or four mining undertakings together, and I was in a couple of those mining undertakings. My partner was Les Prosser, who was regarded as the 'last of the Kalkadoons'. His mother was one of the few 'piccaninny' survivors of the big battle on Battle range—which wasn't a battle, really. It was a massacre. That's a story for another day. When they were doing guerrilla warfare, we Kalkadoons did real good with guerrilla warfare. But, when we stupidly took them on in open combat, that was not a good idea at all. That's a story for another day.

They don't want to be regarded as different. You don't want different laws. All they want is the same laws that every other Australian has, which enables them to own their own house. You don't even give them a provision to own their own house in the land that they've been living on for 30,000 or 40,000 years. They're not allowed to own a house. There's no process in Queensland by which you can own your own house. Why haven't you got off your backside instead of crying about them in the Queensland parliament or the federal parliament? Why don't you go out and listen to them about what they want? If you do, you might be surprised at how much they appreciate what you do out there.

So I plead with people here to read The Mystery ofCapital. De Soto was a World Bank economist, not a lightweight. A cousin of his was the head of Rio Tinto, the second-biggest mining company in the world. These are heavyweight people. In The Mystery of Capital, he said that the thing that enabled the West to get ahead of the rest of the world is that they had property rights. If you got property rights, you can borrow money from the bank. I and one of my best mates, I'm ashamed to say, were a little bit under the weather. We bought half a million acres one night for $25,000 in a 24-inch rainfall area. That's good rainfall area. (Time expired)

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to thank the member for Curtin for bringing this important motion to the House and to Senator Thorpe for bringing the motion in the other place. I commend this motion, and I condemn the attempted bombing attack on First Nations people on 26 January in Boorloo, Perth. This was a deliberate and terrifying act designed to murder innocent people—innocent, ordinary Australian people. And it is rightly being investigated as a potential act of terrorism. Every Australian should pause and sit with what could have happened when this homemade bomb was hurled into a peaceful rally. As a nation, we should be outraged. I'm outraged. Around 2,500 people had gathered peacefully for an Invasion Day rally. This is not a one-off event. This is an event that happens year after year.

If that device had detonated, the consequences would have been catastrophic. We've heard from the member for Curtin and the member for Perth, representing those constituents who could relate so meaningfully what this could have meant in their communities. This could have meant that we saw a massacre of peaceful protesters on a day that is already one of deep mourning for many First Nations Australians. And make no mistake—this was an act of hate. This was an act with racist overtures. This was an attack on First Nations people, and therefore it was an attack on all Australians. An attack on peaceful process strikes at the very heart of our democracy. It's appalling, and I think that this House is right today to speak of what could have been the most dreadful atrocity but what was an absolute and appalling act of hate.

The date of 26 January, for many First Nations people, is one that marks dispossession, one that marks loss and deep grief and one that marks injustice. We must be a nation that comes together, not a nation that seeks to tear each other apart. I acknowledge the profound harm this incident has caused, and I express solidarity with everyone impacted, particularly our First Nations brothers and sisters, Australians who live daily with the threat of harm and with daily acts of prejudice and racism—many small, some big—because truly there is no place for violence or racism in Australia. There truly isn't. But what we're seeing really chills us, and this act on 26 January certainly reinforced that sense of dread.

I echo the motion's calls on governments at all levels to continue to take urgent action. It's been said many times this afternoon that we can't just use words; we must use the actions that we've formulated to address racism, discrimination, hate speech and violence against First Nations people. That action must be urgent. We have a framework that's been constituted already. It needs to be activated at its fullest level.

My words are brief today because I know others wish to express their sorrow and condemn this act of violence on 26 January. It's important that we do so, but, most importantly, we must act. Anything else would be a failure of our responsibility and ultimately a failure of our humanity.

Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Curtin for moving this motion and also Senator Thorpe for moving it in the other place. It is only by sheer luck that a bomb lobbed into the thick of a crowd at a peaceful rally of First Nations people in Boorloo on 26 January did not detonate, and it was only sheer luck that nobody was killed or seriously injured. This deeply disturbing event and the following response, or lack of it, raises many concerns and questions that need scrutiny and a response. The reality is a home-made bomb was thrown into a peaceful public gathering where families, elders and children were present, gathering in a way that was their democratic right to express their own views.

This was a potential mass casualty event and it was avoided not because the risks were managed but because the device failed. And yet, in the aftermath, the response from much of the political leadership and media was muted to the point of seeming indifference. Of particular note was the fact that the leader of Western Australia's opposition Liberal Party, Basil Zempilas, took three days to even mention it publicly. Where was the outrage? Where was the urgency, the clear and immediate condemnation, the sustained attention and the decisive action? Instead, there was minimisation and there was delay. It was only after First Nations leaders and communities pushed for answers that WA Police confirmed they were investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism, but that response did not seem to happen automatically—it had to be demanded—and that should concern us.

This incident reflects how far racial hatred against our First Nations people has been allowed to mushroom, and how emboldened people now feel to act on it. The slow and muted response is also sadly indicative of the institutionalisation of racism against our First Nations people, and this incident has not happened in isolation. The attempted bombing at the Invasion Day rally at Boorloo follows a pattern of racism and violence directed at our First Nations people that so often does not make it into the media as it should and does not receive the response that it should.

Just last year in August, the Neo-Nazi attack on the Camp Sovereignty in Naarm, a sacred Indigenous site for healing, ceremony and protest, was similarly muted. Four people were injured that day, two seriously, with head injuries requiring hospitalisation. Again, this incident was initially underreported and minimised. The City of Melbourne had been warned of the potential threat against that camp, but those who made that warning received no response.

These events reflect an escalation in racism and threats against First Nations people that too often goes unnamed. Too often it is left to First Nations people themselves to fight for the recognition of the seriousness of these attacks, to ensure they are not again overlooked by the media, politicians and law enforcement, and to force a response that should have come immediately and automatically. There is a clear step that the government can take. More than a year ago, the National Anti-Racism Framework was delivered by the Australian Human Rights Commission. It sets out practical measures that can be used to address racism against First Nations peoples: truth-telling for First Nations people, support for self-determination, a nationally recognised definition for First Nations cultural safety and coordinated action across health, media, justice, the arts and data. It recognises that racism in Australia is systemic and structural. The government hasn't yet responded to this proposal, it has not yet funded the framework and it has not yet implemented it. That is a decision. If the government is serious about preventing violence against Australia's First Nations people, rather than simply reacting when it nearly costs lives, then it should urgently fund and implement the National Anti-Racism Framework in partnership with First Nations communities across the country.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak in support of the very important motion brought by the member for Curtin to this place—and which was moved by Senator Thorpe in the other place. The failed attack in Boorloo/Perth on an Invasion Day rally was an attempt to kill First Nations people—it was attempted murder; let's not mince words—and it needs to be taken incredibly seriously by authorities, by politicians and by the media. I—and I would assume all of us—am hugely grateful that the device didn't detonate. But the intent was crystal clear: this was an attempted terror attack. The definition of terrorism is a violent attack attempting to sow hate and division. That was clearly what the Boorloo Invasion Day attack was. We must reject that division and come together to take care of each other and show solidarity with our long-suffering First Nations brothers and sisters.

The significance of this attack on 26 January—on Invasion Day, a day of mourning for First Nations people around the country—cannot be overstated. For decades, First Nations people and allies have marched peacefully on 26 January to mark that day of mourning, and they've been attacked and criticised for it by many politicians and much of the media. This thankfully unsuccessful terrorist attack is a major escalation, and it should be treated as such. The initially muted response from the major party politicians and the media is nothing less than shameful, offensive and irresponsible. The same voices that are ignoring and turning a blind eye to the fundamental historic and ongoing violence committed against the First Nations peoples of this country since colonisation and the embedded institutional racism, the reason we march together on 26 January, are also ignoring this attempted terror attack.

Amnesty International Australia, and many other groups and organisations and legal experts, has condemned the attack at the Boorloo Invasion Day rally on 26 January and has called on the WA police and the government to conduct a proper investigation of this as a hate crime, with charges that properly reflect the severity and the intent of the alleged conduct. Amnesty International reasonably asked the federal government to implement the Australian Human Rights Commission's anti-racism framework and expand the royal commission into antisemitism to cover all forms of racism and far-right extremism.

This was a targeted act of violence against a First Nations led rally and must be treated as a hate crime. Repeated attempts to frame or downplay the incident as anything less misrepresents its seriousness and risks normalising violence directed at First Nations people. This warrants a clear and united response from this parliament—from us. It's racism, plain and simple. It is hate directed at First Nations peoples in this country, and this hate is rising. We all must stand united against it.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to rise in support of the spirit of the motion. I may not necessarily agree with every step of the wording that's used, but I think the spirit of it is resolutely clear. I would think that every member of this parliament is deeply distressed by what occurred in Perth on 26 January and what it could have been as well. I say this in context, of course, of what we have seen over the past couple of years. I'm not going to try and pretend—nor should anybody—that there haven't been past incidents of racism in this country; there absolutely have been. But, and I say this with a genuine sense of sadness, we have seen a spike in the level of racism in this country over the past few years on a scale that is very hard to imagine in our more recent history, particularly in the context of the rise of antisemitism, which of course we know led to tragedy in Bondi. And now we see very distressing signs in Perth—and I acknowledge that there is still a police investigation at the moment that may raise serious questions about what occurred in Perth.

Racism should be condemned by every good, decent, well-meaning Australian. I see the minister on the other side of the table nodding her head, and I do not doubt her sincerity for one second, knowing her previous experience in the area. And I'm sure it's shared very directly by other members in this chamber on the opposition side as well.

We do need to acknowledge, of course, that the matter is still being investigated, and it's very important that it's done. That is not to defer or delay; it's simply to acknowledge that we need to understand what the motivation was and what the intent was. But it's impossible to say that it was anything good. The investigation will go to the extent of the connections and matters beyond that.

What really distresses me is where we are seeing extremism and violence occur in this country. Many of the reasons that I and many members of parliament stood up for public office are that we're fighting for the type of country that we want to be. And the type of country and the type of nation that we want to be is one that's respectful, one where every Australian citizen can live out the fullness of their life. There certainly is no place for violence, whatever its motivation, in this country—whether it's, as some members quite justifiably regularly raise, family and domestic violence or the public acts of violence that we've seen more recently. Every single step of the way it comes down to leaders to stand up and condemn this violence. Not only is it the intent of so many people to cause specific harm; sitting behind that is the motivation of seeking to promote fear and to stop people living out the fullness of their lives.

That's why I wanted to speak on this motion—because I think the spirit of it is right. It behoves all of us in this parliament to stand up and fight for the type of country we want to be. But it isn't in our words; it is in our deeds. One of the things that has disappointed me over the past couple of years—and I've said in this parliament that I don't want to distract from this motion—is that I don't believe we've had enough strength in our leadership. And I think, as I've said in other debates, that extremism begets extremism. That's a very different thing from people's freedom to debate and contest the important issues and affairs that define our country and its future. But, when we don't stand up, it leads to a pathway through radicalisation or cultivation to the point of tragedy or near tragedy, as we have seen in this case. It behoves all of us to stand up for what we believe in and, importantly, for this country.

I want a nation that's built on respect. I want a nation where every Australian feels confident about how they're going to live their life—

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And safe.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and safe—thank you, Member for Wright. Some of the most marginalised sections of our community have continued to be targeted by this type of conduct. Of course no person should have to tolerate it, and it is the responsibility of the people in this chamber and in public institutions to stand up this time and to stand up where others may not have that same privilege. We don't just want a nation of respect; we want a nation where we never have to see the evils that we have seen in recent months perpetuated on any other section of the community. We want to be, I would hope, a role model not just for Australians but for the world.

Question agreed to.