Black Lives Matter Protests in the US heavily influenced by the pandemic and a feeling of commonality lead to an increase of protests surrounding police brutality and criminalization of Aboriginal people in Australia. Current prime minister, Scott Morrison, stated that “divisions we are seeing in other countries” should not be “imported” to Australia. Many protestors were arrested under the pretenses of breaking Covid laws. Police were seen protecting a statue of colonizer captain Cook during BLM demonstrations. While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 2% of Australia’s population they make up 28% of its prison population (aboriginal teens make up 40% of the population in juvenile detention.) On June 6th protestors in Long Bay Correctional Complex, spelled out BLM in towels in the yard and were consequently tear gassed. Long Bay Correctional Complex is also the place of death of an Aboriginal man in 2015, David Dungay, who was killed by corrections officers. He shared the same last words “I can’t breathe” as George Floyd.
