Perth Invasion Day bomb scare sparks renewed calls for national anti‑racism framework

A peaceful Invasion Day rally in Boorloo/Perth was evacuated on 26 January after a 31‑year‑old man allegedly threw a homemade explosive device into a crowd of about 2,500 people gathered in Forrest Place.

WA Police and the State Security Investigation Group say specialist bomb response officers confirmed the item was an improvised explosive device containing volatile and potentially explosive chemicals, with nails and metal ball bearings fixed to the outside. The man, from the northern suburb of Warwick, has been charged with one count of unlawful act or omission with intent to harm and one count of making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances, and was refused bail ahead of a Perth Magistrates Court appearance.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss described the incident as a “potential mass casualty event” and said Invasion Day gatherings “are spaces for truth‑telling, cultural strength and calls for justice – not fear”. She warned that “while the motive is yet to be determined, there is no question that the targets of this attack were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities and their supporters”, adding: “No one is safe until we are all safe from racial hatred.”

Commissioner Kiss criticised the stark difference between the response to the Perth attack and other recent violent incidents, and urged political and law enforcement leaders to recognise the attack as part of a rising pattern of racism and threats against First Peoples.

Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman said: “These acts have no place in our society. Hate and discrimination must be addressed urgently wherever and whenever they arise,” pointing to the National Anti‑Racism Framework as a clear roadmap for action. The framework, developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission with federal funding and launched in November 2024, sets out 63 recommendations across legal, justice, health, education, workplace, media and data systems.

More than 50 civil society organisations (including ACOSS, the Refugee Council of Australia and FECCA) have already called on the Commonwealth to fully fund and implement the framework, warning that racism “causes deep harm to people, families, and communities” and that “a framework for change does nothing sitting on a shelf”.

The national picture shows why First Nations leaders say the Perth incident cannot be treated as an isolated event. The ABS reports that in 2022–23, about one in four (24%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 and over felt they had been treated unfairly at least once in the previous 12 months because they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. Analysis of the Mayi Kuwayu study found that between 2018 and 2021 around two‑thirds (65%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experienced everyday discrimination.

Noongar academic Associate Professor Hannah McGlade said the device being thrown into an Aboriginal‑led rally had deepened long‑held fears. “We are scared for our children at the end of the day. We’re scared for them to go out on Australia Day, January 26th,” she told the ABC, describing it as “an attack on Aboriginal people”.

Amnesty International Australia has urged WA Police to investigate the incident as a hate crime, saying the “fragment bomb” was thrown into a crowd of more than 2,000 people and that the rally was a peaceful protest grounded in truth‑telling and calls for justice. Community anger and concern as Indigenous leaders meet with senior police and the Joint Counter Terrorism Team over how the incident is being handled.

First Nations advocates say that unless governments move quickly on the National Anti‑Racism Framework and broader reforms, the Boorloo attack will have a chilling effect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s ability to gather, speak and protest safely.