Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Pursuant to contingent notice standing in my name, I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent me moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to allow a motion relating to the Perth Boorloo bombing attack, to be moved immediately and determined without amendment.

Question agreed to.

I move:

That the motion be determined without amendment and that the question be put after 30 minutes of debate, five minutes per speaker.

Question agreed to.

I move the motion as circulated and inform the Senate that this motion is also being sponsored by Senators McCarthy, Stewart and Cox:

That the Senate—

(a) condemns the attempted bombing on 26 January 2026 in Boorloo (Perth) that targeted First Peoples and their supporters;

(b) 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;

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

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

(e) notes that for many First Nations people, 26 January 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;

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

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

(h) 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;

(i) 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

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

On 26 January families, elders and children gathered in Boorloo Perth on Whadjuk Noongar boodjar. They came peacefully in remembrance to grieve and to heal on a day of mourning for First Peoples. During the smoking ceremony, a man with hate in his heart and the intention to kill our people took his position on a walkway above the crowd. He was armed with a homemade fragmentation bomb packed with ball bearings, screws and explosive liquid. He threw it into the crowd below, where it landed among our elders and children.

The bomb smouldered, smoke rising from its fuse mixing with the smoke of ceremony. Our healing smoke, carrying the memory and strength of our ancestors, was tainted by the poisoned plume of racism and hate. The bomb thankfully did not detonate. It could have caused many deaths. Our elders say it was the protection of our ancestors present through ceremony, holding our people when the worst was intended. Let us be absolutely clear: this should be treated as an act of terror. It was a deliberate act of hate directly targeting First Peoples on our day of mourning.

But that was just the beginning of the harm. In the days that followed, as those who were there and First Peoples across this country came to understand what had nearly occurred, the trauma deepened. The trauma was met with something familiar—silence, minimisation and indifference, another form of violence. The attempted bombing was an act of horrific, overt hate and racism. What followed was the quieter, insidious thrum of the entrenched, systemic racism that shapes this country. Decisions were made in newsrooms, in ministerial offices and in the daily rhythms of power about whether this was urgent, whether it mattered and whether our lives mattered. There was no emergency press conference from the Prime Minister, no proactive statement of condemnation, no solidarity offered to First Peoples left reeling from this attempted act of mass violence. The Prime Minister's only comments came when he was questioned at an unrelated press conference. Since then, the Prime Minister has held multiple press conferences, and not once has this attack been raised by journalists. They have not asked, pressed or pursued. The coalition and others who were so very vocal in response to the Bondi attack have been notably absent. The court has suppressed the attacker's identity, accepting arguments about his safety in prison because so many of our people are incarcerated. Once again, First Peoples are framed as a threat rather than recognised as the victims.

All this silence matters, and it is loud. It sends a message that our lives are not valued, that our safety is not taken seriously. So today I ask this place and everyone listening to pause and reflect and to ask yourselves, honestly: why was this not seen as deserving national attention? This motion is about bringing this country together. It's about recognition and responsibility. It is about condemning hate and racism consistently, no matter who the victim is or what colour their skin is. It asks the parliament to say clearly to First Peoples: 'We hear you. We believe you. We recognise that the racism and hatred directed at you are real and rising.' It calls on this parliament to commit to urgent action to address racism, hate and violence against First Peoples.