Woolworths is investigating claims by a shopper that she was racially profiled at a central Queensland store amid growing concerns among the Indigenous community that members are being targeted as local anti-crime sentiment increases.
Marilyn, a First Nations woman who asked that her surname not be published, spoke to Guardian Australia after being approached by a staff member at the self-checkout of the store, alleging she had placed chocolates in her pocket and asking if she had paid for them.
In a video of the incident, Marilyn responds by denying she had chocolates and telling the staff member to look inside her pockets, emptying them out to prove her point. She says she had only placed her change in there and confirms she has a receipt for goods bought at the store.
“This is the third time I’ve walked through and been accused of something,” Marilyn says in the video. “I don’t have any chocolates on me. We’ve got a receipt for what we paid for.”
After being prompted by Marilyn, the staff member does offer an apology to her.
A spokesperson from Woolworths said the company was investigating the incident and had attempted to make contact with the customer.
“We are concerned about the incident as this is not the shopping experience we aspire to provide. We take customer feedback of this nature very seriously and have commenced an internal investigation,” they said.
Marilyn said it was not the first time she’d been accused of stealing but she’d experienced several similar instances in the past few weeks alone.
“I have never seen non-Indigenous people getting that same attention,” she said.
“I’m glad I got a chance to pull out a camera and show it.”
The video comes amid broader concerns about organised vigilante activity in central Queensland in response to local crime, after a mob surrounded the home of an Indigenous teenager in Rockhampton in an unrelated incident.
Guardian Australia revealed the ringleader of the group, Torin O’Brien, was previously the national leader of a far-right “patriots” group, which regularly published anti-Islam content online. O’Brien did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
Queensland police have repeatedly cautioned against vigilantism, with commissioner Katarina Carroll last week warning it could result in a death.
Alwyn Doolan, a Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka man from the Aboriginal community of Woorabinda, west of Rockhampton, said he had heard of several other incidents involving the Indigenous community over the past few weeks.
“There was a woman racially abused in Gracemere, that was going to pick up her daughter from school and had been called out racial names,” Doolan said.
“The tensions are high in the community around what the vigilantes are doing but also the fear-mongering [towards] predominantly Indigenous peoples.”
First Nations people were often “painted with the same brush” and are weary after being “stereotyped”, he said.
Indigenous community members held a meeting last week to discuss safety concerns after vigilante car patrols.
“It’s 2023. It’s way out of line in terms of us moving forward together as a community,” Doolan said. “It doesn’t make any sense, taking law matters into their own hands.”
