Indigenous organizers of Invasion Day protests in Sydney on January 26 have promised to continue with a Covid-safe march even though NSW Health has put the number of people allowed to gather to 500.
The rally on Gadigal land was still scheduled to start at 9am on the public holiday from Djarrbarrgalli, or the Domain, organisers said on Wednesday.
The NSW Health Covid-19 limits only allow up to 500 people to gather and so far 1,400 people have said on Facebook they will attend.
Organizers said the main protest was too urgent to continue given the ongoing pressure on First Nations communities.
COVID-Safety Protocols
They said there would be a Covid security plan that would include ensuring that participants wear masks and follow the rules of social distancing. Organizers say protests should be allowed to continue if crowds are allowed to gather at shopping malls, beaches and the latest SCG Cricket Test.
“Unlike Covid, the virus of colonial racism that came to these lands in 1788 cannot be defeated by self-isolation or quarantine,” rally organiser Elizabeth Jarrett said in a statement. “We need to come together and fight back.”
The Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Dunghutti woman said that throughout the pandemic Indigenous people were still “being locked up and killed and our children are being taken at ever-increasing rates”.
“We will not stop until our sovereignty is considered and we see justice,” he said.
Is This Worrsome?
Organisers said the rally would demand the abolishment of Australia Day which marks the beginning of British colonialism through the arrival of the first fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788.
The rally would also call for sovereignty not constitutional recognition and an end to killings in custody, the forced removal of children and the destruction of the land and the climate.
A NSW police spokesman told Guardian Australia that an application to hold a protest on January 26 had not yet been lodged. A NSW Health spokesman said outside protests could continue if they complied with public health regulations and had a safety plan in place.
Other events of Australia’s day are likely to continue in New South Wales, although the state in which the Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, calls the “mopping up” stage of virus outbreaks in the northern beaches and western suburbs.
The Liberal leader was asked on Wednesday whether she was concerned that councils opposed to celebrating Australia Day on January 26 would suspend events, including citizenship ceremonies, under the cover of Covid-19. Berejiklian said people should “come together”.
“I want to see Australia Day where we all come together. It’s what we feel on the day that matters. I think we can all celebrate the day in a Covid-safe way.”
The Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, has canceled an Australian Day show in Melbourne over health advice saying it would not be safe as it was not a sit-down event. He also said that the Invasion Day protests should not continue.
“It’s not about why you meet, it’s about, do you meet in a safe way?” Andrews said.
“It is not a seated event and judgment from public health team – not politicians – was it couldn’t be done safely.”
Instead a ticketed and seated Invasion Day dawn service in King’s Park was planned for 26 January.
