Amnesty International Australia is concerned by the reports that all Aboriginal children are being removed from the Inverell Aquatic Centre by NSW police in response to a few children misbehaving.
The targeting of children based on their race, and the association of these children to the behaviour of other children who may belong to the same racial group, is outright discrimination. Excluding children from accessing and enjoying public services and amenities, like the local swimming pool, is a violation of human rights.
The Inverell Aquatic Centre is just a few towns away from Moree, which was the centre of the 1965 protests against segregation and racial discrimination against Aboriginal people at the Moree Baths and Swimming Centre. The proximity of this incident at Inverell Aquatic Centre to the Moree pools, and the fact that last month marked 60 years since the landmark human rights protest, which was a significant part of the Freedom Rides movement led by Charles Perkins, gives the alleged racial discrimination toward Aboriginal children at the pool historical significance.
“Can you imagine if every white child at a swimming pool was rounded up by the police and kicked out, because a couple of white kids were mucking about? It just wouldn’t happen. And yet this is what has reportedly happened to the Aboriginal kids swimming at Inverell Aquatic Centre over the weekend,”
Uncle Rodney Dillon, Palawa Elder and Amnesty First Nations Rights Adviser
“We call on the Minns government to investigate what happened at the Inverell Aquatic Centre, and if it is confirmed that the NSW police and pool staff employed by the council engaged in racial discrimination, they must be held accountable.”
“Aboriginal children have the right to go for a swim at the local pool without being targeted, stereotyped and excluded because of racism. We send out support and solidarity to these kids and their families after what must have been a highly upsetting experience.”
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