Politics

Indigenous Activist Clinton Pryor Felt So Disrespected By Malcolm Turnbull He Had To Walk Away

"Listen, don't talk over the top, then respond"

by Sam Langford  6 September 2017

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An Indigenous activist who just completed a year-long walk from Perth to Canberra says he felt so disrespected by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning that he had to turn his back and walk away.

Spirit Walker Clinton Pryor reached Canberra earlier this week, in the final stop on his walk to raise awareness of Indigenous issues, including calls for a treaty.

While many other politicians including opposition leader Bill Shorten met with Pryor outside Parliament House earlier in the week, Turnbull asked to meet at the back of Parliament House in the private Prime Minister’s courtyard instead.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Pryor said that both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion “were disrespectful — speaking over the top of Aboriginal Elders to defend unfair policies — rather than listening respectfully” in the meeting.

Pryor said he ultimately felt so disrespected by Turnbull that he chose to walk away “rather than continue listening to the PM attempting to defend the ongoing unfair and unjust treatment of Aboriginal people in this country”.

Pryor later wrote on Twitter that he considered it a “powerful moment” for Indigenous people.

He also shared a list of the demands he and Elders put to the politicians, which included a call to action on an Indigenous treaty, stronger land rights agreements, and the implementation of all recommendations of the Royal Commission into Indigenous deaths in custody.

The Prime Minister’s Office has released a statement, saying the Prime Minister “was interested to hear [the Indigenous representatives’] perspective, but respectfully disagreed with several of the matters raised”. The remainder of the statement outlined these points of disagreement.

Pryor wrote on Twitter that he “hopes the Prime Minister will learn how to listen and engage respectfully with Aboriginal Elders before future meetings planned for November 4”.