Victoria Police has officially withdrawn charges against two Indigenous activists who helped organise the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Melbourne.
Amangu Yamaji woman Dr Crystal McKinnon and Gunai and Gunditjmara woman Meriki Onus
“We would like to emphasise that the fight is not over,” Onus said outside the courtroom after the ruling had been made.
“One death in custody, one death by the state is one too many.”
“We would like to extend our solidarity and support to all people and groups organising and fighting for justice to end racism and the ongoing violence.”
“The Victorian Government presents itself as a progressive government committed to addressing past and ongoing violence against First Nations peoples through various initiatives, while at the same time trying to silence the voices who have had enough of our people dying in custody and who demand change,” they said.
“At the time of the Black Lives Matter rally a significant number of our people had died in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. That number has only increased. The message is not getting through.”
Fellow organiser Tarneen Onus-Williams was also fined but it was withdrawn.
The organisers were the subject of vitriol in 2020 from government officials, police and the public who accused them of helping spread COVID-19, which we now know wasn’t the case.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller at the time spread blatant lies in the media that the Black Lives Matter rally had caused the first wave of COVID and put Melbourne back “five or 10 years economically”.
Newscorp news outlets also published false information about the protest sparking a COVID cluster.
But not a single case was linked to the event and anyone who attended will know how seriously the organisers took health and safety. Every attendee wore a face mask and the crowd was split into smaller groups for the actual march, in accordance with gathering limits at the time.
