#BLACKLIVESMATTER
INDIGENOUS leader Ashley Saltner delivered a stirring speech to the crowd gathered at the Black Lives Matter Rally in Townsville.
Mr Saltner, ( pictured) reading out a statement written by Wulgurukaba Elder Linda Saltner, said indigenous Australians had faced oppression for too long, pointing to black deaths in custody as a case in point.
“To us all lives matter, all lives. But in these circumstances, especially in the last 200 years in Australia, there’s been black deaths in custody,” Mr r Saltner said.
“Our culture has been n taken away from us, our land has been taken away from us, our social well- being has been taken away from us.
“But we’ve risen up under that over the 200 years. This is black deaths in custody, and this is about everyone.”
Mr Saltner said “there’s no excuses, black lives do matter and enough is en enough” as he pointed to the d death in the US of George F Floyd.
“Continuing this culture of bl black deaths in custody and th the injustice must come to an en end,” he said.
“The generational trauma … caused by these continual barbaric acts is a disgrace to humanity.
“In echoing what Floyd’s family have asked, they’ve called for calm, peace, and they will get justice.
“This is a time to let your voice be heard and use your right to vote.”
Mr Saltner said police brutality wasn’t an issue just in the US.
“While we call for a peaceful rally, police officers in Australia still used unnecessary force in the arrest of a 17year-old who was not resisting arrest while being detained. And they wonder why there are protests.
“They bring shame and dishonour to the other officers who work hard to honour their pledge to the community,” he said.
“Thanks to those in the police force who are doing their job with honour and empathy.”
Mr Saltner also took aim at US President Donald Trump, saying his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic was a “disgrace”.
But Mr Saltner’s most important line was left until last and directed at young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
“Just to leave a message out there for our next leaders. Our ancestors were warriors, not gangsters.”
FEDERAL Health Minister Greg Hunt hopes the Black Lives Matter rallies across the country that clearly broke COVID-19 social distancing rules will not lead to a new wave of infections.
Twenty thousand people marched in Sydney and crowds rallied in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and some regional cities and towns on Saturday despite public health warnings.
“We don’t know whether people will be infected,” Mr Hunt said yesterday.
“But if there is someone who is infectious in the midst of a crowd like that, that can have a catastrophic impact.”
The Australian protests, in solidarity with African-american George Floyd who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, also showed support for the Aboriginal community to highlight high levels of indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody.
But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann thought the protesters were “quite irresponsible” and would have caused heartbreak for the families who haven’t been able to attend funerals for their loved ones because they took the advice of health experts.
“My heart just goes out to them as they see people recklessly going to these sorts of demonstrations, that must be just awful for them to watch,” Senator Cormann said yesterday. “I think it is incredibly selfish, it is incredibly self-indulgent, and yes it does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risks on to the community.”
While Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles was “uncomfortable” about people turning up for these marches, he said he understood why they did it.
“I don’t feel like I’m in a position to say to indigenous Australians … that this is a selfish and indulgent act,” he said. “I’m not about to engage in
IF THERE IS SOMEONE WHO IS INFECTIOUS IN THE MIDST OF A CROWD LIKE THAT, THAT CAN HAVE A CATASTROPHIC IMPACT
GREG HUNT
that kind of judgment of those who did it.”
The marches came on a day when just two new COVID-19 cases were reported in Queensland and Western Australia and the nation’s two largest states, NSW and Victoria, drew a blank sheet.
Australia has had just over 7250 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the death toll remains at 102.
Meanwhile, the Morrison Government is extending some of the measures in its $1.2 billion support package for the aviation sector to ensure the industry can be sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic.