A father says he will continue to pursue accountability for an incident that allegedly saw Aboriginal families in northern New South Wales racially targeted by staff at a local pool.
Gamilaroi man Thomas Davis attended Inverell Aquatic Centre on Sunday, March 16, to drop off money to his son, who was visiting the pool with friends.
Mr Davis noticed a police wagon in front of the centre, and went inside to investigate.
"A couple of kids were doing bombs. They obviously would have been told a couple of times [to stop], but instead of reaching out to them again, or even the parents ... [the staff] just called the police," he told NITV.
Davis told NITV that it appeared all Aboriginal people in the centre had been asked to leave.
"They were telling everyone they had to go," he said.
In a statement, NSW police said they attended the centre around 4pm on Sunday.
"Police attended and spoke to the manager who identified a group of 20 people, including adults and children who were being unsafe, not following instructions, and rude to staff," the statement said.
"They had been asked to leave, however, were refusing."
However Mr Davis said Aboriginal families clearly not involved in the incident were unfairly targeted.
"Even the Elder, old Aunt there, she had to leave. She wasn't in there doing bombs ... She was just there with her grandkids," he said.
"There was a few little ones there that ... weren't even old enough to swim on their own, and they were in there with their parents.
"They all had to get out and go."
Video posted to Mr Davis' Facebook page shows NSW police officers standing by the pool, and a crowd of Aborginal parents and children standing outside the water.
The vision has sparked comparisons with the segregationist policies of the last century, specifically the banning of Aboriginal families from local pools in regional NSW towns.
That injustice was famously protested by Arrernte Kalkadoon man Charlie Perkins and an alliance of Sydney students during the 1965 Freedom Ride, which celebrated its 60th anniversary just last month.
But Mr Davis says racism is still a part of life for Indigenous people in Inverell; following the 2023 Voice referendum, data revealed that New England, the federal electorate that encompasses Inverell, had one of the lowest Yes votes in the country (24.66 per cent).
"This is a very racist town," he said.
"You see it on a daily basis when you walk into the shops.
"When there was a lot of crime in town ... we're always the first to get blamed for everything."
He said the impact is particularly hard on children.
"A lot of people don't understand where our kids are coming from," he said.
"Everyone just thinks because they're little Aboriginal kids, they're all bad.
"No one's got time for them."
Amnesty International's Aboriginal Advisor, Palawa man Rodney Dillon, said the incident could have long-lasting impacts on the families involved.
"The feeling of those kids to be marginalised like that, and to be kicked out of the pool because of their colour, that is a real, direct attack at their basic human rights as individuals in this country," he told NITV.
"It takes us back probably 100 years ... to think that there's that much hate in that town to do that to a group of kids, which will suffer from that for the rest of their life."
Outside looking in
The images of mostly Blak families standing poolside while NSW police look on have already sparked calls for a discrimination complaint.
"If the Human Rights Act can't do something about that, then what are we doing as a country?" Mr Dillon said.
Belgravia Leisure, which manages the centre, said in a statement that several young patrons were escorted from the premises for unspecified "antisocial behaviour".
"Whilst at the venue, police identified two other adult patrons also displaying anti-social behaviour. Both adults were also escorted from the premises," the statement reads.
"We want to be clear that at no stage were any patrons asked to leave unless they were directly involved in anti-social behaviour.
"At Belgravia Leisure, we are committed to fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all."
Inverell Shire Mayor Kate Dight said the council "supported" the actions of the staff.
"Centre Managers, Belgravia Leisure, requested several patrons leave the facility as their actions were threatening the safety and wellbeing of other users," she said in a statement.
"Management sought the assistance of NSW Police in dealing with the incident. Council supports the actions of the Centre Manager in ensuring the safety of users and Staff."
But Mr Dillon dismissed those descriptions of the incident.
"People can make a lot of excuses for racism," he told NITV.
"To bring the police in to get Aboriginal people away from that pool, I think, is an utter disgrace.
"That council and that police force really need to have a good look at themselves."
Mr Davis said he was in discussions with other families about pursuing the matter further.
"It's definitely something I'm not just gonna let go. If it's not right, it's not," he said.
"Our Elders fought for this. So it's my time to stand up now and be that Elder for the kids and be that voice for them."
