The
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia began with the first recorded case in January 2020. By March,
social-distancing rules were implemented, international borders closed to non-residents, and a series of
lockdowns began in some places, responding to outbreaks of the disease.[2][3][4]
On 25 May 2020, US police responded to a callout. As a result,
George Floyd, an
African American man, was arrested for allegedly using counterfeit money. Once restrained, Floyd repeatedly stated "I can't breathe" whilst a white officer knelt on his neck, asphyxiating him. When footage of the event was released, all officers affiliated with the arrest were fired. Floyd's death was ruled a
homicide by the coroner, with charges being laid against the officers.[5][6][7]
The murder of George Floyd lead to widespread protests in the US, as his murder became a focal point for
race relations, institutionalised racism and police brutality.
Police brutality in the United States was a longstanding social issue, with activists often protesting against excessive force and high incarceration rates of African Americans.[8]
In 1987, the
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was appointed to investigate 99 cases of Aboriginal deaths in custody during the 1980s. As of 5 June 2020, an additional 434 Aboriginal Australians had died in custody since the commission's findings were handed down in 1991.[12] As of 2016, while Indigenous Australians accounted for roughly 2% of Australia's total population, they made up 27% of the national prison population, with incarceration rates rising markedly in the preceding decade.[13]
The George Floyd protests in Australia often referenced recent instances of Aboriginal deaths in custody. These include: the 2014
death of Ms Dhu in police custody;[14] the 2015 death of
David Dungay (whose final words were "
I can't breathe") in a prison hospital;[15][16] the 2017 death of
Tanya Day in a police cell;[17] and the forceful arrest of an Aboriginal teenager on 1 June 2020.[18]
Many Indigenous people were frustrated that it took the murder of a black man in the US to bring focus onto injustices in Australia.[19]
Reactions
Prime Minister
Scott Morrison stated his beliefs that violent protests would not create change. He warned against Australian demonstrations taking a similar course as "there's no need to import things happening in other countries."[20] Following major Australia-wide protests on 6 June, Morrison called them "completely unacceptable" and demanded an end to further protests. In addition to concerns around
COVID-19, he stated that some protests had been hijacked by left-wing movements, and called for demonstrators at future events to be charged.[21] However, after being challenged on his assertion that there had not been
slavery in Australia, Morrison acknowledged that "all sorts of hideous practices" had taken place in the past.[19]
The
Labor Party did not directly criticise people protesting, but said that everyone should follow the authorities’ health advice. Senior Indigenous MP
Linda Burney said that it was important for the media to focus on the issues, not whether people protested or not.[19]
Protests in this state were in violation of the state's Public Health (
COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order at the time, which banned gatherings of more than ten people outdoors for a common purpose without a reasonable excuse or exemption.[25]
The second and largest protest was held on Saturday 6 June, where at least 10,000 protesters gathered at
Sydney Town Hall and marched to
Belmore Park. The crowd chanted "
I can't breathe" and held a
moment of silence for George Floyd.[29] A
counter-protester, who interrupted the protest by holding up an "
All Lives Matter" sign, was handcuffed and removed from the protest by police.[29] A group of protesters was pepper-sprayed by police at
Central Station following the protest,[30] and Acting Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon later defended this action as an appropriate use of force.[31][32]
The protest caused significant controversy.
PremierGladys Berejiklian originally stated that she believed people had a right to protest, but later
backflipped and deemed the protest "illegal" and in violation of the state's public health orders.[33] Following this, the protest was subject to a successful legal challenge in the
Supreme Court from the Commissioner of the
New South Wales Police Force on the basis of health reasons.[34][35] That decision was overturned on appeal by the
New South Wales Court of Appeal just minutes before the protest began.[36] The Court of Appeal – constituted of
Chief Justice Bathurst,
President Bell and
Justice Leeming – overturned the decision of Justice Fagan on the basis that the protest organisers had complied with the necessary steps in order to gain approval to hold the protest in an authorised way.[37]
A third protest was held on the evening of 12 June in solidarity with protesters at Sydney's
Long Bay Correctional Centre,[38] where
Corrective Services officers fired
tear gas on inmates who spelled out "BLM" on the prison yard.[39] Approximately 300 protesters met in
Hyde Park because of a significant police presence at Sydney Town Hall, the original location for the protest.[38] 600 police were involved in policing the gathering, and one woman was arrested for failing to comply with a move on order.[40]Mounted police and officers guarded a large statue of
James Cook located in Hyde Park on the night, which was later defaced.[41][42] A police officer was filmed making an
OK gesture toward protesters,[43] a gesture which has been co-opted by the
white power movement.[44] The Police Force denied that the officer used the gesture in an offensive way.[45]
Lismore: 1000 protesters marched from Spinks Park to the Lismore police station on 6 June.[46]
Newcastle: An estimated 5,000 protesters gathered in Pacific Park and marched through the city to Civic Park.[49] The protest, held on Saturday 6 June, was one of the largest rallies the city has ever seen.[50]
Wyong: An estimated 500 protesters marched through the town's central business district to the Wyong Court House.[51]
Alice Springs: 500 protesters gathered at the town's courthouse.[55]
Darwin: 1000 protesters gathered at Civic Park and marched through the central business district on 14 June, in a protest organised by members of the
Larrakia people, who are the
traditional owners of the Darwin area.[56] The protest was granted an exemption from the Territory's coronavirus health orders, which restrict outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people.[56]
Cairns: 3000 protesters protested at Fogarty Park on Sunday 7 June.[59]
South Australia
Adelaide: At least 6,000 protesters gathered in
Victoria Square on Saturday 6 June and marched along
King William Street after the
South Australia Police Commissioner gave protesters an exemption from lockdown restrictions. A second protest had been planned for the following Saturday, but police disallowed this.[60][61][62][55][63] The protest was titled "Solidarity with Minneapolis" by the organisers, and speakers included several
African Australian and Aboriginal speakers, who mostly focussed on Australia's history of violence and racism and towards black people. Among those who addressed the crowd were actor
Natasha Wanganeen;
Kaurna culture and
language educator and 2011 SA
Young Australian of the Year,
Jack Buckskin;[64]South Sudanese musician
Gabriel Akon (known as DyspOra); several
elders, including 76-year-old Kaurna and
Narungga elder Yvonne Agius and Aunty Joan Lemont; and also relatives of deceased victims.[65]
Tasmania
Hobart: About 3000 people gathered on the lawns in front of
Parliament House in solidarity with the international George Floyd protests.[66] Hand sanitiser and masks were made available, and entry to the lawns was restricted at times to keep the crowd at an acceptable size.[66]
Launceston: About 300[a] people peacefully protested at a vigil in
Prince's Square against racism and police brutality against minorities.[67] Protesters stood for
8′46″ of silence.[68] Speakers also covered issues
Aboriginal Tasmanians face, such as Indigenous children being
strip searched by police.[67] The vigil had been approved by the local health authorities, and hand sanitiser and masks were made available.[67]
Victoria
Ballarat: An estimated 350 protesters gathered at Alfred Deakin Place for a
Smoking ceremony and silent protest.[69]
Melbourne: An estimated 7,000 protesters gathered at
Parliament House and marched to
Flinders Street railway station on Saturday 6 June 2020.[70] The organisers of the protest, the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, were each fined A$1651 for organising a mass gathering in violation of the Victorian Chief Health Officer's coronavirus directives,[71][70] which prohibited outdoor gatherings of more than 20 people.[72] Several days later, Victoria's Chief Health Officer revealed that one of the protesters had since been confirmed as
COVID positive, though suggested they would have likely contracted COVID-19 before the protest (and may have been asymptomatic during it)[73]
^An additional 100 people or so were viewing a livestream of the event.[67]
^Sources vary in describing the attendance, from hundreds to thousands, with The West Australian reporting "hundreds",[74]SBS reporting "[a]bout 2000",[75] and The Age reporting "thousands".[76]
^"Bringing Them Home: Part 2: 4 Victoria". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. 1997. Archived from
the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2016 – via AustLII: In its submission to the Bringing Them Home report, the Victorian government stated that "despite the apparent recognition in government reports that the interests of Indigenous children were best served by keeping them in their own communities, the number of Aboriginal children forcibly removed continued to increase, rising from 220 in 1973 to 350 in 1976."{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (
link)