Australian Indigenous Affairs Minister Emphasizes the Importance of National Truth Telling After Neo-Nazi Incident

Share and Follow

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy has said national truth telling processes are “important steps” for the country in the wake of a neo-Nazi attack on a sacred First Nations site.

Camp Sovereignty in Naarm Melbourne’s CBD was attacked by a violent mob on August 31 in the wake on the anti-immigration March for Australia.

Neo-nazi Thomas Sewell, charged in relation to the attack, is being held in custody, after a Melbourne judge last week refused him bail, deeming him a risk to the community.

Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy, who has expressed her solidarity with Camp Sovereignty since the attack, visited the site on Sunday.

She said the pain in the community is still evident.

“There was a lot of deep emotion and continues to be, but it was important to get a sense of the spiritual peacefulness that people were really looking … amidst what has been an absolutely horrific time,” she told the ABC on Monday.

“It is good to be able to listen to people here in Victoria as to what that process has been like,” she said.

“But there’s also others who think the process has to be even more national in regards to that truth telling.

“The conversation I had with [Camp Sovereignty leader] Uncle Robbie Thorpe really touches on that, and I certainly believe that these are important steps for our country.

“I’m also mindful that we’ve got to take the country with us. And right now, I think people just need to have time together and stay strong against hatred and division.”

Day of defiance ahead of protests planned for weekend

On Saturday, members and supporters of Camp Sovereignty gathered in defiance of the violent assault that occurred on August 31, which followed on from the anti-immigration ‘March for Australia’ protest of the same day.

Krautungalung Elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe says the far right attackers who stormed Camp Sovereignty last month fear what the camp stands for.

“They came off the back of those marches and they came through here,” said Uncle Robbie Thorpe.

“They’re afraid of this space and what it represents. We never ceded our sovereignty.”

The August 31 attack occurred during what is a weekly smoking ceremony, one designed to be a welcoming rite for anyone interested in attending and learning at the Camp.

Uncle Robbie Thorpe at Camp Sovereignty on Saturday. The Elder says far right figures who attacked the camp on August 31 ‘fear’ what it represents. Credit: Anna-Marie Harding.

Camp Sovereignty is a sacred burial site for ancestral remains that have been repatriated (or “rematriated” as Uncle Thorpe says, referring to the Mother Earth) to Country, and also serves as a gathering and protest site.

“We’re talking about the truth and healing,” Uncle Robbie said of the camp’s mission.

“The country’s in denial. This is an opportunity to unravel all that and start talking about the truth.”

Organised by Kaninna Langford, known professional as Miss Kaninna, Saturday’s event included speeches, music and a smoking ceremony.

The Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirandhali woman told NITV she organised that day because she was “devastated by the scenes witnessed last weekend, “with the neo-Nazi groups attacking my Elders and my community.”

“I felt pretty helpless, so I spoke to Uncle Robbie and some of my artist friends, and we just wanted to put some boots on the ground to reclaim the space.”

The performer and activist said it was important to counter the scenes witnessed last weekend.

“It was a hate crime against our people,” she said.

“Fascism and white supremacy is on the rise, and if we’re not quick, we might have a serious issue on our hands.”

Protests are being planned for Saturday by community groups across the country in response to the attack.