Australia Day: Clashes between police and protesters erupt at Sydney Invasion Day march

Updated

A man has been charged after clashes between police and protesters within a crowd of thousands at an Invasion Day march through inner-city Sydney.

A police officer was injured in the incident which caused a brief struggle between police and some of those attending the march.

Officers used an extinguisher to put out a fire when another person allegedly tried to set a flag alight, and thick white smoke could be seen coming out of the crowd.

Police said it was an "isolated incident in an otherwise peaceful demonstration" and overall they were pleased with the behaviour of the crowd.

A 20-year-old was charged with assault police, resist arrest and malicious damage to property.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear back in court next month.

Marking the growing debate around the date of Australia Day, thousands of people marched through the heart of Sydney's Aboriginal community, Redfern, into the city and up to Victoria Park where the Yabun festival was held.

The march resumed with protesters chanting in opposition to police power and continued on to Victoria Park safely.

The state's new Premier Gladys Berejiklian condemned the alleged violence.

"We have a democracy and everyone has a right to protest, but today is celebrating everything that brings us together, and I think most people would feel extremely disappointed at what they have seen today," she said.

"It's not acceptable to do that on a day like today, however please feel free to express your views."

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine said the violence was unacceptable.

"If we want to have a mature, sensible discussion and debate about a day that brings us all together as a nation then fighting ... [is] not a way to do it," he told AM.

"You can have marches, you can have demonstrations, but you don't go around insulting people and attacking people over this."

Protests held throughout Australia

Hobart had their largest crowd to date at the protest, with Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre president, David Warrener, telling the crowd the date was not appropriate and it continued to be a day of invasion.

Tasmanian Governor Kate Warner added to the debate, arguing changing the date was something for Australians to consider.

In Brisbane, more than a thousand people rallied outside state parliament.

They chanted "change the date" and "always was, always will be Aboriginal land" as they marched through through the city to Musgrave Park.

There will be live music and food at the park, which is a gathering spot for the local Indigenous community.

About 50 people attended a march in Alice Springs, which was tied in with protests against the treatment of children at the Don Dale Detention Centre.

Those at the peaceful demonstration chanted "there's no pride in genocide" and called for January 26 to be a day of national mourning, not celebration.

Among the protestors was Kirra Voller, the sister of Dylan Voller, who was filmed restrained and hooded while in detention at Don Dale.

"I think it's time to change the date … we're still celebrating something on a day that was basically trying to wipe out all of everything," she said.

"We should be trying to celebrate and accept that there is this culture that is still here and is strong, rather than try and push it out with some kind of Australian culture of barbecues and sausages. That's not culture."

Laura Lyons, who attended the Redfern Invasion Day protest, said Australia Day represented a war.

"It signifies the colonisation and the genocide, what happened when Captain Cook landed out there in Botany Bay," she said.

"The day signifies for me our survival, survival of my people."

Opinions split on the date

Early on Thursday morning, hundreds gathered at Sydney's Barangaroo Reserve for a smoking ceremony performed by Aboriginal dancers.

It was followed by singers from 10 Sydney choirs performing a song in the Darug language, as the Australian and Aboriginal flags were raised on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Jacinta Tobin, who co-wrote the piece, said it was an amazing moment.

"The tune in the song was given to me by spirit," she said.

Ms Tobin said she was thrilled with the response.

"I'm just overwhelmed with all the response and the love," she said.

The crowd was told that while Australia Day was one of sorrow for many Aboriginal people, it was important to come together as a community.

Indigenous elder Uncle Max Harrison said it was a great morning.

"I just hope that the public could understand and look at our cultural day within this day that they call Australia Day," he said.

"Our mob needs to be acknowledged just a little bit more, not just a tokenistic thing."

Uncle Max said the date of Australia Day was not of too much consequence, but the importance of understanding Indigenous culture should not be understated.

"Our people have got to learn to accept what happened, but try and get the non-Indigenous people to understand," he said.

"It's got to be acknowledged."

Editor's note (27/01/17): An earlier version of this story reported a man who allegedly burnt an Australian flag had been charged by police. This was incorrect. A man was charged with assaulting police.

Topics: australia-day, aboriginal, aboriginal-language, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, sydney-2000, hobart-7000, brisbane-4000, alice-springs-0870

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