The alleged throwing of a homemade bomb into an Invasion Day rally crowd must be treated as a racial hate crime, Indigenous advocates say.
A 31-year-old man is in custody after being accused of throwing a device “designed to explode” into a crowd of 2500 people at the protest in Perth.
Police are investigating the incident as a potential terrorist act, saying it was only because of good luck the device did not explode.
It allegedly contained a mixture of volatile chemicals with nails and metal ball bearings attached to its exterior.
Indigenous legal and human rights expert Hannah McGlade believes it should be treated as a hate crime and a racist attack targeting Aboriginal people.
The Curtin University associate professor said First Nations people feared for their children going out on Australia Day because of abuse and threats.
“We are worried for our kids and their safety on this day because of this rising right-wing influence and racism that really hasn’t abated in Australia,” she told AAP.
In Western Australia, racial motivation had never been acknowledged properly by the courts, even though the law was amended to allow for racism and to be a circumstance of aggravation to increase penalties, she said.
“Because Australia has failed miserably to tackle racism and racist violence we haven’t seen the authorities use that provision, even in relation to murders,” Prof McGlade said.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Forrest Place in Perth’s CBD on Monday after a man was accused of removing the explosive device from a bag, throwing it into the crowd and attempting to flee.
The 31-year-old was charged with an unlawful act or omission with intent to harm and making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.
A Perth magistrate granted a suppression order on the man’s identity because of fears for his safety.
State and federal police and ASIO were working to determine if the January 26 incident met the criteria for a terrorist attack, WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said on Thursday.
“They will work through that normal process and we need to let that play out,” she told reporters.
Indigenous activists have criticised police and political leaders for “double standards” over the incident, given the Bondi Beach massacre was promptly declared a terror attack.
“When violence is linked to Muslims, the word ‘terrorism’ appears in headlines almost immediately,” Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe said.
“But when First Peoples are targeted … the response is silence, minimisation and delay.”
Rally organiser Fabian Yarran said the incident must be fully investigated as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against First Nations people.
Threats had been made against the event before the incident, organisers have said.
Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said the potential for mass casualties caused deep distress and fear among First Nations people.
“While the motive is yet to be determined, there is no question that the targets of the attack were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their allies,” she said.
She called on the government and law enforcement agencies to treat the incident with the same urgency and seriousness as the Bondi terror attack.
WA Police said significant resources were deployed to the event in case protest participants required protection from a range of possible scenarios, “including the critical incident” which took place.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said she was pleased the incident was being considered a potential terrorist act.
“There is no reason a group of people in Perth, First Nations people, cannot protest without feeling their lives are in danger,” she told ABC News.
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