‘We need to wake up!’ Aboriginal activist unleashes a furious rant as he slams selling water for profit as ‘a second wave of genocide’ during debate about Australia’s drought
- Bruce Shillingsworth was invited to speak during Q&A’s drought segment
- He slammed ‘corporate greed’ for taking water from Indigenous communities
- Mr Shillingsworth said the lack of water was impacting the community’s health
- The activist was praised by the Q&A audience and by viewers on Twitter
An Indigenous activist says water is being stolen from the First Nation people in what he described as a ‘second wave of genocide’ during a furious debate about Australia’s drought on Q&A.
Bruce Shillingsworth, a Muruwari and Budjiti man, was invited to speak about the impact of Australia’s crippling drought on the Indigenous community during Monday evening’s segment.
Mr Shillingsworth – a self-proclaimed water warrior – said he was speaking on behalf of drought affected Indigenous communities who have been left voiceless.
‘The water mismanagement and the corruption and the corporate greed and capitalism in this country has killed our rivers,’ he said.
Bruce Shillingsworth (pictured), a Muruwari and Budjiti man, was invited to speak about the impact of Australia’s crippling drought on the Indigenous community during Monday evening’s segment.
Mr Shillingsworth was then met with ‘hear, hear’ and loud claps before he continued his argument.
‘They have killed our communities… the health has deteriorated in our communities, our old people are now dying, our young people with a higher rate of mental health, suicide, dialysis,’ he said.
‘A lot of the First Nation people are leaving their tribe, their lands they’ve lived on for thousands of years.’
Mr Shillingsworth referred to the dwindling population of aquatic life and suggested the problems were too far gone.
‘How do we bring back the 50-year-old cods, how do we bring back the freshwater mussels and the aquatic life, the ecosystem and the animals that relied on the river and the water?’ he said.
‘They’re now completely dead. They’re extinct.’
Mr Shillingsworth – a self-proclaimed water warrior – said he was speaking on behalf of drought affected Indigenous communities who have been left voiceless
Mr Shillingsworth said this has happened over the last century and ‘Australia needs to wake up’.
From listening to the panel, Mr Shillingsworth said he heard two things; water and profit.
‘Why are we selling water to make profit? My people that relied on animals for a food source for thousands of years and are now dying,’ he said.
‘This is the second wave of genocide. It’s happening in my community.’
Mr Shillingsworth concluded he wanted to speak for his community who have ‘been voiceless over the last 230 years’.
‘Why are our people dying young? Why are our people suffering? Because of the greed. The taking of our water. Where is our rights to water? First Nation rights to water?’ he said.
The ‘Water for Rivers’ activist, who is also a painter, was met with applause from the audience
The activist was praised for his poignant speech on Twitter
Mr Shillingsworth urged leaders to put water back in the rivers for both the Indigenous communities and the environment.
The ‘Water for Rivers’ activist, who is also a painter, was met with further claps from the audience.
Mr Shillingsworth’s family are ‘painters, dancers and rainmakers’ and he is a cultural educator in Sydney.
He launched the Corroboree Project this year, where dance groups from the river communities and around Australia performed evening riverbed corroborees.
The activist was praised for his poignant speech on Twitter.
Mike Cannon-Brookes, the CEO of software company Atlassian, tweeted: ‘Bruce Shillingsworth you are a f***ing legend champ! Fire up. I feel your pain. Your passion. We all did. Thank you for the blunt emotion.’
Another viewer said: ‘Bruce spoke TRUTH to Power tonight. He said it as it is. He’s right, there’s no place for profit over water. It is the fault of capitalism.’
Mike Cannon-Brookes, the CEO of software company Atlassian, tweeted: ‘Bruce Shillingsworth you are a f***ing legend champ!