Invasion Day terror accused ‘motivated by racism, hate’
Robyn Wuth |
A man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into an Invasion Day rally crowd was motivated by “hateful, racist ideology”, police allege as the attack is declared a terrorist act.
Thousands of people were evacuated on January 26 from Forrest Place in Perth’s city centre after police found an object containing volatile chemicals, nails and metal ball bearings.
The explosive device, which failed to detonate, was thrown by a 31-year-old man at the 2500-strong crowd of Indigenous people, families and supporters, police allege.
West Australian Premier Roger Cook said the incident had been determined by state and federal agencies to be an act of terror – the first in the state’s history.
“We must condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms, and we must call it for what it is,” he said on Thursday.
“I know this event has impacted people Australia-wide, and it is deeply felt by our Indigenous communities. I know that there is anger, we have every right to be angry.
“Any attack on our First Nations people is an attack on all of us, and this is not what it means to be Australians, but we must allow police to complete their investigation so that justice process can take place.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the attack as being driven by racism and hatred.
“The device did not detonate, but that does not change the fact that this attack was real and the intended consequences would have indeed been horrific,” he told federal parliament.
“I know that First Nations people around Australia are grappling with that, the combination of disbelief, anger and real fear.”
Charges against the 31-year-old, who remains in custody, have been upgraded to engaging in a terrorist act.
If found guilty, he faces life behind bars.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said he was saddened by the first terror attack in the state’s history with the charges upgraded nine days after it occurred.
“This charge, which has been laid by the joint task force, alleges the attack on Aboriginal people and other peaceful protesters was motivated by hateful, racist ideology,” he said.
“It saddens the rest of our country that a fellow citizen would seek to cause harm to others in our community.
“This is a difficult moment for our community, but a really important one to come together and unify as a result of what has occurred.”
Police have met with the First Nations community and Noongar Elders to forge a path forward.
“It is not a time for hate, it is not a time for blame. It’s a time for all leaders in our community to work together to make sure that we have no one, no one in our country that seeks to do this level of harm to others,” the commissioner said.
The state’s most senior officer said law enforcement agencies across the country had no intelligence pointing to an imminent threat that could have been deadly if the device had detonated.
In the days since the attempted bombing, police have seized electronic devices for forensic examination and have ruled out any further risk to the community.
A team of “hate disrupters” – the national security investigations team – was being established in WA to take action against anyone promoting hate and violence, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
AAP
