Burney decries ‘unbelievably racist’ treatment, bullying, in candid remarks
Sarah Basford Canales
Just going back to this morning’s campaigning event with Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney for a moment.
The Labor frontbencher was picked up on camera, seemingly unaware, discussing with NSW premier Chris Minns the “unbelievably racist” treatment she has recently had to endure.
Minns asked: “Have you been doing a lot of travelling?”
To which, Burney responded:
Unbelievable. We’ve just finished two weeks of gruelling parliament … to me, it’s just unbelievably racist and bullying. The way they have treated me is appalling.
The comments follow comments by shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who said she had been bombarded with abusive messages and voicemails after her phone number was leaked on social media this week.
Key events
June Oscar, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, has released a statement of the Indigenous voice to parliament. Oscar said:
The voice is a once in a lifetime opportunity to unite all Australians. It is the first time in Australia’s history that we are on a collective path to recognising First Nations peoples’ deep connection to this continent, and our remarkable civilisation.
It is an opportunity to have a society of inclusion, unity and recognition.
The referendum is also an opportunity to overcome division, to step above and beyond political rhetoric, highly charged and accusatory debate, and the endless churn of ill-informed policy positions. This is our opportunity for positive change.
Over the course of the next four weeks, it is imperative that we care for one another, no matter our positions on the referendum. We must unite around our shared Australian values – of equality, respect, freedom, and fairness.
I am a firm believer that our nation is ready for transformational reform to ensure that the strength of First Nations knowledge and our holistic understandings of the world can rightfully be recognised and celebrated by all who call this continent home.
This will benefit all Australians. It will ensure that our Indigenous knowledges are integrated into the make-up of this nation, and considered by all future governments to come.
We must all engage with an open mind, and listen deeply to the informed voices of First Nations people as to the power of this reform, for a better future for us all.
More than a million Dymocks customer records available on dark web after hack
The details of more than 1.2 million Dymocks customers were stolen and made available on the dark web after the book retailer was hacked, the company has confirmed.
Dymocks CEO Mark Newman wrote to customers on Friday saying that an investigation into the “data incident” had confirmed the extent of the hack, including that the information compromised was the name, address, phone, email, membership details and date of birth of customers.
The company confirmed the possible breach last Friday. In the recent email to customers, Newman said that while the investigation was ongoing, the “compromise” appeared to have occurred in the systems of an external data partner.
None of the information published on the dark web included passwords, identification such as driver’s license numbers or any other highly sensitive information such as transaction information, payment information or credit card details, Newman said. He said:
Given what has occurred, I urge you to continue to be vigilant. If you haven’t already, please take the steps we recommended in our notice last week. Doing so, and keeping yourself informed from our Customer Notices Page, will ensure that you protect yourself from potential scams and fraud.
As an Australian-owned, family company that has a successful legacy of serving Australian customers for 144 years I cannot begin to express how devastated the team and I feel about this incident. We apologise unreservedly that the compromise has occurred, and we’re committed to looking for ways to further strengthen the measures that we and our partners take to keep your information safe.
Sarah Basford Canales
Yes-voting Liberals distance themselves from Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s colonisation claims
A number of moderate Liberals have distanced themselves from comments made by shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who claimed on Thursday that there were no lasting negative impacts of British colonisation on First Nations communities.
Federal MP Bridget Archer, Liberals for Yes convenor, Kate Carnell, and former NSW treasurer Matt Kean have all expressed disappointment in Price’s comments.
Price was asked on Thursday whether she believed colonisation was continuing to impact Indigenous Australians around the country. She said:
I’ll be honest with you, I do not think (there are ongoing negative impacts). A positive impact? Absolutely. I mean, now we have running water, readily available food.
Archer told Guardian Australia on Friday she did not share those views with the Coalition frontbencher.
“I can only imagine how hurtful Senator Price’s comments have been for many Indigenous communities,” Archer said.
Carnell, who was fresh off campaigning in the Gold Coast with Noel Pearson, said she was “always disappointed where evidence isn’t taken on board.
“The important issue is to accept (is) that might be her experience, but it’s not the experience of a large number of other Indigenous Australians.”
Kean said “if we aren’t prepared to learn from the past, we will struggle to ever build a better future”.
“It doesn’t serve anyone any good to pretend like history didn’t happen. It does actually a great disservice to try and airbrush our history,” he said.
Fugitive still on the run in Victoria
A Victorian fugitive remains on the run, 11 days after escaping from a prison in the state’s west.
Police said in a statement on Friday that fugitive squad detectives were appealing for public assistance to find escapee Daniel Briffa.
Briffa, 50, escaped from Langi Kal Kal prison “by unknown means” some time between 6pm and 9pm on 4 September.
He was serving a sentence for drug, theft and traffic related offences.
Briffa was seen the morning after he escaped about 40km away in Alfredton, a suburb of Ballarat.
He was seen on CCTV footage wearing a black jacket, loose fitting dark tracksuit pants, white runners and a white face mask while purchasing several items from a convenience store.
Briffa is about 170cm tall, of solid build, short brown curly hair, a full beard and moustache. He also has tattoos on his lower legs.
Burney decries ‘unbelievably racist’ treatment, bullying, in candid remarks
Sarah Basford Canales
Just going back to this morning’s campaigning event with Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney for a moment.
The Labor frontbencher was picked up on camera, seemingly unaware, discussing with NSW premier Chris Minns the “unbelievably racist” treatment she has recently had to endure.
Minns asked: “Have you been doing a lot of travelling?”
To which, Burney responded:
Unbelievable. We’ve just finished two weeks of gruelling parliament … to me, it’s just unbelievably racist and bullying. The way they have treated me is appalling.
The comments follow comments by shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who said she had been bombarded with abusive messages and voicemails after her phone number was leaked on social media this week.
Taser death information must be released urgently, NSW Greens say
NSW police should urgently release further information about the death of a woman who was allegedly Tasered by officers, a state Greens MP says.
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice Sue Higginson said the incident should also be subject to a full independent investigation, rather than one conducted by other police but overseen in a “limited” fashion by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.
A 47-year-old woman died after police officers allegedly shot her with a Taser and bean bag-style rounds during a standoff at a Newcastle apartment block. She had reportedly threatened officers with an axe during the standoff.
Higginson said:
We have got to stop deploying deadly weapons to de-escalate and calm people in these situations.
Rather than a proper independent investigation we will now see a critical incident investigation take place, where police will investigate police and the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission will have some limited oversight role.
I’m calling on the minister for police to urgently release further information about this death in Newcastle. Trust in policing is low and the community deserves transparency and accountability.
Higginson also repeated her calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the use of deadly force by police against people with complex needs.
You can read more on the death here:
Mystery over human remains found on Tasmanian farm
Human bones discovered on coastal farmland in Tasmania alongside black dress shoes and clothing could have been there for up to 30 years, AAP reports.
Police are asking the public for information to help identify the remains found by a local resident on a property at Clifton Beach, southeast of Hobart, on 6 July.
“A lengthy forensic analysis has been conducted which confirmed the remains are human, but unfortunately an identification has not yet been made,” Inspector Andrew Keane said on Friday.
The remains were found near a pair of black dress shoes, a short-sleeve top, as well as a plastic bag containing two keys on a chain, a cigarette lighter and two possible ID cards.
The right shoe had several store-bought orthotics in the heel.
The remains were above cliffs halfway between Clifton Beach and Goats Beach.
It’s only a little more than three hours until Melbourne play Carlton in an AFL semi-final, so you could do worse than reading this piece I prepared earlier:
Joyce says Price’s speech on colonisation a ‘masterclass’
Sarah Basford Canales
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has praised Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments on colonisation, saying his colleague was daring to say what others couldn’t without being deemed racist.
Price on Thursday said there were no ongoing negative impacts of colonisation for Indigenous Australians, instead saying there had actually been positive outcomes.
I’ll be honest with you, I do not think (there are ongoing negative impacts). A positive impact? Absolutely. I mean, now we have running water, readily available food.
The comments were condemned by Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney on Friday morning, who said they were “offensive” and “simply wrong”.
Assistant Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy also told Sky News she has had to speak with “very traumatised First Nations people who are still coming through policies that did impact their lives so severely it continues to destabilise … future generations”.
But Price’s Nationals colleagues have come out in support of the sentiment. Joyce told Sky News’ Bolt Report last night he thought the speech was a masterclass and she said out loud what others thought but couldn’t say.
I think that Jacinta has the capacity to say things that so many other people want to say but we feel unable to say it because we will be cast as racist if we did. It’s not racism, it’s logic.
Nationals leader David Littleproud dodged directly answering whether he supported Price’s comments when asked by the ABC shortly after her speech.
Cathy Freeman honoured with stand
Mike Hytner
Cathy Freeman, the Olympic gold medal-winner, said she felt honoured after the NSW government announced earlier today that the eastern stand at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium would now be known as the Cathy Freeman stand.
Freeman, who lit the cauldron at the 2000 Games’ opening ceremony 23 years ago before delighting a nation with her victory in the 400m final, became the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic track and field gold at the Games in 2000. She said:
This stadium and Sydney Olympic Park hold a truly special place in my heart and that will never change.
I hope that my story continues to inspire generations of girls and boys to chase their own dreams in sport and life.
Australian Olympic Committee chair, Ian Chesterman, said it was a “wonderful gesture”. He said:
Australians have a deeply shared affection for one of our greatest athletes. Her victory in the 400 metres inspired future generations and united Australians in an unprecedented fashion.
A proud Kuku Yalanji and Birri Gubba woman, she has motivated both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to reach for their dreams.
