Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to speak about the ongoing horrors of police violence and brutality in this country. The police are an armed branch of this racist, colonial project who have persecuted First Nations people and queer and trans people of all skin colours since colonisation. They have been carrying out the genocide against First Nations people for 250 years—a genocide which continues to this day.

The police don't care about the safety of First Nations people or the safety of trans people. They care far more about upholding colonial systems of control and oppression as they uphold the illegal and violent occupation of land that always was and always will be Aboriginal land. Yet we still march alongside them at pride marches, accept their continually increasing presence in First Nations communities and turn a blind eye to the ongoing brutality and violence committed against marginalised groups.

The first pride marches were born out of the Stonewall riots, which were protests against colonial laws that tried to force the queer community into corners. They were led by black, brown and white activists from across the LGBTIQ+ community and were protesting against the ongoing violence being perpetrated by this system. The first Sydney Mardi Gras in 1978 was a march in solidarity with these protests and was met with significant resistance and violence from the New South Wales Police. Despite police intimidation and brutality, the 78ers took to the streets to demand equal rights and to stand united in a show of love and peace for all.

Mardi Gras has now become completely corporatised and lost sight of those origins. I stand with those in the queer community who are calling for no cops in Pride. I disagree with the police marching in Pride and do not accept their presence in the name of diversity as they continue to lock up First Nations people, murder our people in custody, steal our children and prosecute queer and trans people.

This is a genocide that has never ended in this country. Such behaviour is not welcome in LGBTIQ+ communities. It's not welcome in black and brown communities. It should not be welcome in this country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up three per cent of the national population, yet we are the most incarcerated people on this planet. This is no accident. The overpolicing of our communities has continued since colonisation, and our people continue to die at the hands of police and corrections—a genocide that never ended.

Every change for our community, every win, has come through protest. We would not be where we are today without the courage and commitment of the 78ers and other black and queer activists who have risked their safety to demand equal rights and an end to ongoing systemic violence. The recent antiprotest laws in New South Wales work to silence us and uphold the colonial systems of control and oppression. These laws are a breach of our basic democratic right to protest and our fundamental civil liberties. They aim to uphold existing power structures and silence grassroots activists fighting against this violent and oppressive colonial system. We will not be silenced. Our people have fought for justice since colonisation, and I will continue to fight for an end to the ongoing systemic violence and discrimination perpetrated against First Nations people. (Time expired)