Senator Lidia Thorpe has tabled a petition in Parliament urging authorities to prosecute the August attack on Camp Sovereignty as a hate crime, calling the official response a “slap on the wrist” and a failure to reflect the racial motivations behind the violence.
The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung Senator described the incident as an assault by a gang of neo-Nazis on the Melbourne protest camp and sacred Aboriginal cultural site at King’s Domain. She said community members were hospitalised, and attackers desecrated the Aboriginal flag and a sacred fire.
“In August, a gang of neo-Nazis violently attacked Camp Sovereignty; a burial place for our ancestors and a sacred site of healing, culture, connection, dance and song,” Thorpe told Parliament.
“These Nazis hospitalised community members. They trampled the Aboriginal flag and desecrated our sacred site - our place of worship. The racial hatred and white supremacy driving this attack could not be clearer.
"If it were a church, synagogue or mosque, there would have been swift action from authorities.”
Thorpe criticised police for refusing to investigate the attack as a hate crime, noting that the minor charges laid so far “ignore the racial hatred behind the violence” and represent ongoing systemic racism against First Nations people.
“This is just a slap on the wrist for neo-Nazis,” she said.
"It is yet another example of the colony’s acceptance and endorsement of ongoing violence and racism against First Peoples. We must not accept this."
The call for decisive action has been supported by 21 members of the federal crossbench, who recently wrote to the Albanese Government, Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police, and state and federal prosecutors urging the attack to be investigated as both a hate crime and an act of terrorism.
Thorpe said the broad support demonstrates the urgent need to address white supremacist violence in Australia.
“Camp Sovereignty was established by my uncle, Elder Robbie Thorpe, and other Elders, as a place of culture, ceremony, and healing.
"It is our place of worship and must be protected and respected like any other sacred space. First Peoples should not be treated as lesser,” she said.
“The government, the police, and prosecutors have a duty to act decisively. This is about preventing further attacks, holding perpetrators accountable, and sending a clear message that white supremacist violence will never be tolerated.”
The petition Thorpe will table has already garnered more than 400,000 signatures, calling for the attack to be prosecuted as a hate crime, for a full inquiry into police conduct, and for stronger safeguards to prevent future attacks on sacred First Nations spaces.
