Karl Stefanovic has slammed ‘irresponsible’ protesters for attending Black Lives Matter rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Today Show host made the controversial comments while speaking with with NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy and journalist Jessica Irvine on Monday.
Both Ms McCarthy and Ms Irvine argued that the protests against racism and police brutality should’ve gone ahead despite the restrictions banning mass gatherings.
However, Stefanovic disagreed, saying now was not the right time for the rallies to go ahead.
‘I get the need to protest and I’m obviously not a First Nations person but we have these rules in place to protect our society from this awful, awful virus,’ Stefanovic said.
‘We’ve done the right thing, we can’t allow a protest right now…protest in a couple of months when we’ve got this thing under control…it’s irresponsible isn’t it?’ he asked.
Demonstrators at the Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney were standing in solidarity with U.S protesters, who have taken to the streets in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota
But Senator McCarthy replied saying: ‘What’s irresponsible is that this country’s not listening to the voices of the First nations people’.
She argued the protests had been organised to ensure protesters were safe, with face masks and hand-santiser given out at rallies across the country.
‘This has been thoroughly organised – both from the rallies point of view but also in terms of dealing with COVID-19. We know we have to be sensible but come on Karl, seriously?’ Senator McCarthy asked.
‘We’re four months into dealing with this and if we as a country don’t feel confident in the way we’re trying to handle this pandemic, when will we?’
Tens-of-thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide on Saturday in support of the movement, despite being urged not to by their governments.
The COVID-19 restrictions are in place to slow the spread of the virus and ensure a second wave doesn’t sweep across Australia.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann sparked controversy when he labelled protesters ‘self-indulgent’ and ‘selfish’for attending the events.
Karl Stefanovic has called protesters as ‘irresponsible’ for attending Black Lives Matter rallies amid the coronavirus pandemic
A woman in a Black Lives matter shift wears a face mask as she attends the rally in Sydney on Saturday
‘Many people have made lots of sacrifices to help save people’s lives. So in that context, it was absolutely inappropriate for tens of thousands of people to breach the rules that apply to everybody else,’ he told Sunrise on Monday.
Sydney protesters were controversially given the green light at the last minute, after organisers launched a successful appeal against the NSW Supreme Court’s decision of a day earlier which had ruled the protest illegal.
The Court of Criminal Appeal’s decision outraged many, who claimed it was insulting to the millions of Australians who have suffered but done the right thing over recent months.
Rules vary across Australia, but in NSW – where the court ruled protests legal – pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants can have no more than 50 people. Funerals and church gatherings have the same limit, while weddings can have no more than 20 guests.
The Australian protests in solidarity with African American George Floyd who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, also a showed support for the Aboriginal community to highlight high levels of indigenous incarceration and deaths in custody.
Labor’s indigenous Australians spokeswoman Linda Burney described Senator Cormann’s comments as ‘tone deaf’ and ‘politically expedient’.
The federal government’s finance minister Mathias Cormann slammed those who protested as ‘selfish’ and ‘incredibly self-indulgent’
‘Mathias Cormann should know better than to describe these protests yesterday, this cry from the heart of many thousands of people across the world and in Australia, as self-indulgent and reckless,’ she told reporters in Sydney.
While Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles was ‘uncomfortable’ about people turning up for these marches, he said he understood why they did it.
‘I don’t feel like I’m in a position to say to indigenous Australians … that this is a selfish and indulgent act,’ he told ABC TV’s Insiders program.
‘I’m not about to engage in that kind of judgement of those who did it.’
Queensland funeral director Wes Heritage told The Courier Mail he had watched on as grieving families struggled to come to terms with the fact only 10 people could attend the service for their loved ones.
Mr Heritage said any outbreak caused by mass gatherings would only make things even harder.
‘We’ve nursed grieving families through the tough restrictions on funerals and now we’re really happy to where we’ve got to – we don’t need a backward step,’ he said.
‘We’ve been so strict and successful and would hate to see this protest create an issue that imposes further restrictions on families.’
Businesses – including cafes (pictured), restaurants and pubs – have been hit hard by the COVID-19 restrictions, with reduced patronage leaving some in a financial hole they will never recover from
Australians were not allowed to attend dawn services or marches on Anzac Day this year, instead they were urged to stand in their driveway with a candle to commemorate the fallen soldiers