An Indigenous Spirit Walker’s 5581km trek from Western Australia to Canberra to raise awareness for Aboriginal rights ended on a sour note with his claims Malcolm Turnbull didn’t listen to him.
Clinton Pryor, 27, left Perth nearly a year ago with the intention of demanding a treaty between the Australian Government and Indigenous elders which would give them control over their communities.
He travelled from WA to the Northern Territory, before walking down to South Australia, across to Victoria, up to Sydney and then on to Canberra.
During his walk, Mr Pryor stayed in Aboriginal communities, and met with Elders across the country to discuss their issues with the intention of taking their concerns to the Prime Minister.
Pictured: Clinton Prior walks away from the Prime Minister looking disgruntled, while Malcolm Turnbull is seen smiling behind him
Mr Pryor spent nearly a year walking from Perth to Canberra, stopping in Aboriginal communities to listen to their concerns
The man and his supporters arrived at the Canberra Tent Embassy on Sunday, where they were visited by MPs and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
On Wednesday, Mr Pryor and other Aboriginal Elders met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, where Mr Pryor intended to present the demands of the Indigenous community.
All did not go to plan though, with the 27-year-old walking away saying he felt ‘disrespected’ by the Prime Minister and Nigel Scullion, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
A picture shared to Mr Pryor’s social media accounts shows him pushing his way past the media scrum, dressed in a possum-fur coat and a knitted beanie as Mr Turnbull smiles for the cameras.
Mr Pryor’s first issue was about where they would meet with Mr Turnbull – with the Aboriginal group requesting a meeting at the Tent Embassy, and the Prime Minister preferring somewhere more secluded.
‘Unlike other members of Parliament, Mr Turnbull not only refused to come and meet with Aboriginal Elders at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, but also refused to walk even a few steps outside of Parliament to meet in the Parliamentary Forecourt – despite Clinton having walked seven million steps to get here,’ a statement from his spokesperson said.
‘Instead, Mr Turnbull forced Clinton and the Elders to go through security checks and into his private Prime Minister’s forecourt in order to have any meeting.’
Though Mr Pryor’s spokesperson claims he ‘turned his back and walked away,rather than continue listening to the Prime Minister’, it is understood the PMs office believe the meeting ended amicably
Mr Pryor, 27, said he felt ‘disrespected’ by the Prime Minister and Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion
The group were then angered by Mr Turnbull and Mr Scullion’s attempts to disagree with them, which they felt were disrespectful.
‘At the meeting, a spokesperson for Clinton and the Elders attempted to read out a statement of demands as was shared with other MPs and subsequently tabled in Parliament yesterday,’ the spokesperson said.
‘During this process both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs were disrespectful – speaking over the top of Aboriginal Elders to defend unfair policies – rather than listening respectfully.’
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister says while Mr Turnbull was ‘interested to hear their perspective, but respectfully disagreed with several of the matters raised’.
Pictured: The list of demands Mr Pryor presented to Mr Turnbull at their meeting on Wednesday
Mr Pryor and his supporters arrived at the Canberra Tent Embassy on Sunday, where they were visited by MPs and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (pictured outside Parliament with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on Tuesday).
Mr Pryor and his group were fighting the forced closure of Aboriginal communities, and the use of the cashless welfare card, and demanding a treaty between the Government and Aboriginal Elders
Mr Pryor and his group were fighting the forced closure of Aboriginal communities, but Mr Turnbull’s spokesperson claimed one such community, the Swan Valley Noongar Settlement, was closed in 2003 due to ‘disturbing reports of violence and sexual abuse’.
And while Mr Pryor chided the Prime Minister for the cashless welfare card, which disallows users to withdraw large amounts of cash or use the card for gambling or alcohol, Mr Turnbull’s office referred to it as ‘an exercise in practical love’.
Mr Pryor’s spokesperson claimed: ‘The Spirit Walker felt so disrespected by the Prime Minister and his entourage that he chose to turn his back and walk away, rather than continue listening to the PM attempting to defend the ongoing unfair and unjust treatment of Aboriginal people in this country’.
It is understood the Prime Ministers Office believe the meeting ended amicably and with both parties departing at the same time.
Aboriginal Elders are expected to meet with the Prime Minister again on November 4.
Elders are expected to meet with the Government again on November 4