Boorloo Perth was shaken Monday when an object containing volatile liquids and shrapnel was thrown into an Invasion Day rally, prompting a terrorism investigation and raising urgent questions about the safety of First Nations gatherings.
Growing Concerns Over Safety at Indigenous Events
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A 31-year-old man is in custody, and authorities are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack, sparking calls for increased protection and a more serious response to rising hate.
- A man has been charged with multiple offenses and is due in Perth Magistrates Court on February 17.
- A joint task force—including WA Police, the Australian Federal Police, and ASIO—is investigating the incident.
- Indigenous leaders are criticizing the perceived lack of urgency from political leaders compared to responses to other attacks.
The incident, described by police as a potential mass casualty event, occurred during a rally commemorating Invasion Day. The man’s identity is being withheld following a court order. Authorities confirmed Wednesday that the investigation is also being treated as a potential act of terrorism.
“A man, 31, has been charged [and] remanded in custody, and will next appear in Perth Magistrates Court on 17 February,” a joint task force stated. “The investigation is ongoing and further charges have not been ruled out. There is no ongoing threat to public safety.”
Megan Krakouer, Director with the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, expressed the community’s distress. “I’m still really frustrated, angry, hurt about the hatred and discrimination,” said the Menang woman. “The fact that somebody took it upon himself to hurt a large crowd of people at a gathering which is sacred to First Nations people… Elders, young people, men and women [there] to protest in relation to Invasion Day.”
Calls for Government to Treat Threat Seriously
Katie Kiss, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, stated the attack caused “deep distress and fear” within Indigenous communities. “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 in a statement.
We have not been heard in ways that we should.
Kiss emphasized the potential severity of the situation, stating, “Had the device detonated, the results could have been catastrophic, and potentially as deadly as the Bondi terrorist attack. I call on the government and law enforcement agencies to treat this incident with the same urgency and seriousness.”
Krakouer drew a stark contrast between the response to this attack and the widespread condemnation following last year’s Bondi attack. “This was a First Nations rally. It’s almost like they do not care about us,” she said. “We have not been heard in ways that we should… To my mind, this was a hate crime.”
She continued, “We have an elevation across the country of people who do not like First Nations people. We belong to this land, we belong to this country. The mere fact that we can have a rally which is impeded by a person who took it upon himself to cause danger is an absolute travesty. We are seeing, on the rise in this country, hate, discrimination, racism, and it’s been taken to new levels over the last decade.”
Anti-Racism Framework Awaits Government Response
The AHRC’s National Anti-Racism Framework, submitted to the federal government in November 2024, remains unaddressed. “We still haven’t heard as to whether they will endorse it, adapt it, or implement it,” said Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman. “And that framework is First People centered, and it has specific measures in terms of combating the racism that target First Peoples.”
Sivaraman added, “It’s built on a foundation of truth telling, building racial literacy within schools, within other parts of our lives. We don’t know if any one thing would have stopped the horrible attack in Boorloo Perth, but what we do know is that if you take the whole of government, whole of society approach to tackling racism, that’s really the only way to try and eliminate it from our systems, our institutions and from our streets.”
The prime minister stated Tuesday that authorities should “throw the book” at the alleged perpetrator. “This was an incident that is quite shocking and he’s been charged with two serious offences and I look forward to him being prosecuted to the full force of the law,” he said.
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe criticized Anthony Albanese for not taking stronger action. “[The prime minister] needs to show leadership… to condemn what happened and stand with our people and call it for what it is, and that is a terror attack against First Peoples in this country,” she told NITV.
Following the Bondi attack, the prime minister faced criticism for allegedly ignoring prior warnings. Addressing a memorial service for the 15 victims of Australia’s worst terror attack, Mr. Albanese said he was “profoundly sorry” the attack wasn’t prevented.
Thorpe noted similar warnings have been issued by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly after a neo-Nazi attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne last year. “We’re sick of these words coming out of, particularly, the prime minister’s mouth by smoothing over these attacks on our people,” she said. “We saw what happened at Camp Sovereignty. he needs to do more now, he’s shown leadership for other communities, he needs to show leadership for us. We’ve always been swept under the carpet, we’ve always had atrocities and violence perpetrated against us minimised by authorities and governments.”
Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy said Thursday that the government had acted decisively with its hate speech legislation. “Unfortunately we weren’t supported in a bipartisan way to get those laws through,” she told the ABC. “We know that we have to work very serious in this country to keep social cohesion, and it doesn’t help when people go online and say things or do things that really impact that. As a government we will continue working for the safety of all Australians.”
Ms. McCarthy stated she had spoken with the WA government and families of those present at the rally on Monday.
