A radical Aboriginal campaigner who attended a rally in support of Voice to Parliament has highlighted a glaring problem with such marches.
Bruce Shillingsworth, speaking to the Voice, said there were “just a few First Nations brothers and sisters” among the 15,000 spectators at Sunday’s rally in Sydney.
About 200,000 people across Australia took part in the marches held across the country, with demonstrations taking place in cities including Melbourne and Canberra.
Shillingsworth, who is on bail awaiting sentencing after being convicted of a serious offence, said news.com.au The indigenous population at the march ‘stung out like a sore thumb’.
He said the meetings were full of “nice non-Indigenous people who think they have the right to speak for First Nations people.”
He previously described the campaign to enshrine an Indigenous voice in Australia’s constitution – which will be voted on on October 14 – as “nothing but tokenism”.
A radical Aboriginal campaigner who attended a rally in support of an Indigenous voice in Parliament on Sunday (pictured) has pointed out a glaring problem with such marches: they included few Indigenous people
Shillingsworth recorded video of the rally and spoke to the camera as residents marched behind him at Redfern this weekend.
“As you can see, this is the Yes campaign,” he said.
“What we’re seeing right now is all these nice non-Indigenous people who think they have the right to say something for First Nations people.
“Conversely, we now know that First Nations people would never dream of having a say over non-Indigenous people.”
On September 4, Shillingsworth was found guilty of aiding and abetting arson by coordinating protesters, instructing someone to hide cameras and contacting other protesters to prevent police from putting out a fire at Old Parliament House.
The fire, on December 30, 2021, caused $5.3 in damage after being deliberately set.
The prosecutor alleged that the day before the incident, 32-year-old Shillingsworth had encouraged people to “take a stand” and “come over here and kick down this door.”
Social media footage shown in court showed him giving an emotional speech to fellow demonstrators in the building’s portico.
‘We can break down any door. Doors of injustice. Doors of genocide. Doors where they take our children and hide behind,” he was heard saying.
In another video from December 29, 2021, Shillingworth referred to the “eviction papers” the group had posted on the doors of Old Parliament House.
‘We have given that notice. An immediate notice of eviction… We are telling them to move immediately,” he said in the video played in court.
In surveillance and body camera footage from Dec. 30, Shillingsworth was identified as part of the crowd that blocked police attempts to reach the fire.
Shillingsworth, who had pleaded not guilty, argued that the day’s events were simply a cultural ceremony.
On September 4, Bruce Shillingsworth (pictured) was found guilty of aiding and abetting arson by coordinating protesters, instructing someone to hide cameras and contacting other protesters to prevent police from starting a fire at Old Parliament House extinguish.
“What we wanted to do was go in and fumigate that place,” he said.
‘(A) smoking ceremony is a cleansing process. It is meant to purify the evil spirits. Believe me, there are many bad spirits in that place. That’s where they made the decisions to kill my people.”
The convicted criminal, who is also known for wearing a fake police uniform that closely resembles the actual NSW Police uniform, will return to court on October 26 to be sentenced.
He claims that his made-up police force, which he calls “Tribal Lore Enforcement,” will “take control through the power, jurisdiction and authority of tribal lands.”
Indigenous politicians and elders addressed many of the 40 rallies held across Australia this weekend.
In Melbourne, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney told the 30,000 attendees that it was “truly overwhelming to look out over this crowd and see you.”
‘To know where your heart is, to know where your mind lives. And that you, like us, want to embrace this opportunity to move this country forward together,” she said.
‘For 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have spoken 363 languages, but no voice. In 27 days, you will have the power to do something about it.”
In Canberra, Ngunnawal elder Aunt Violet Sheridan said the referendum was not about politics but about “respect and justice”.
“Let’s ensure that our stories, our country and our voices are respected and valued,” she said.
“Our voices deserve to be heard in the decisions that shape our lives, the lives of our children and our grandchildren.”
Shillingsworth was accused of being a leader of the group that had camped near the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and damaged the Old Parliament House (above)
In Brisbane, Quandamooka woman Leeanne Enoch told the crowd of 20,000 people that the nation was facing a “profound turning point”.
“So I ask all of you to continue the work that you have been doing: marching, talking, calling people, having conversations so that we see a yes vote,” she said.
Despite the demonstrations and prominent advertising campaigns, such as the young indigenous boy asking simple questions and another using John Farnham’s song You’re The Voice, opinion polls indicate the referendum will fail.
The Resolve Political Monitor’s latest survey found that only 43 percent of voters supported a plan to enshrine the Vote in the Constitution, a drop of 20 percentage points from a year ago.