A “POLLIES in the Pub” event in Kempsey featuring controversial Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was cancelled just as it was about to begin on Wednesday, 12 March, following a protest by members of the Dunghutti community.

National Party Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan had organised Senator Price’s visit to the West Kempsey Hotel.

Promotion of the event was posted to social media and on the venue’s website.

But when Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr woman Lynne Holten arrived, she was told she was not allowed in.

“We saw Pat Conaghan [and] we said we had something to say about how disrespectful it is to bring Jacinta Price on to our Country without contacting the local [Indigenous] community,” Ms Holten told News Of The Area. 

“We were then told it’s a private meeting.

“It was never advertised as a private meeting, it was advertised as a public meeting.”

Ms Holten said Senator Price “denigrates Aboriginal people”, citing statements the politician has made publicly about the Stolen Generation and domestic violence in Indigenous communities.

Dunghutti and Biripi woman Cheryl Davis, a lifelong resident of Kempsey, said many of Senator Price’s public statements do not align with the views of the local Indigenous community.

“Hearing a lot of Jacinta Price’s policies and what she believes, this woman does not speak for me and she does not speak for my family.

“To come here to see her and listen to her, and to be told we aren’t allowed in, is downright disrespectful.”

Joanne Smith, the former Vice Chairperson of the Dunghutti Elders Council, told NOTA she believed Senator Price had “sold out” Indigenous Australians over the Voice to Parliament and was also angry at the lack of consultation.

“Jacinta Price showed disrespect by not informing our communities, not seeking permission from the Dunghutti Elders Council or any Elder for that matter to have this meeting on our land.”

Senator Price has been on a tour of the NSW coast this week, visiting National Party and Liberal Party supporters and election candidates in Raymond Terrace, Taree and Port Macquarie.

She was set to appear in the pub alongside Mr Conaghan to “engage with the community, hear their concerns, and share insights on current issues”, according to event promotion. 

 

Ahead of the event’s 2pm advertised start, a 30-strong crowd had gathered on the hotel’s verandah in protest, leading organisers to cancel the Senator’s appearance.

Police arrived promptly to mediate the situation and the crowd soon dispersed.

Jacinta Price is a Country Liberal Party senator for the Northern Territory and the Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs. 

She sits with the National Party in the Federal Parliament.

Born in Alice Springs, she has both Indigenous and Anglo-Saxon heritage, and was a leading figure in the successful “No” campaign for the Voice to Parliament referendum.

In a statement in response to the event’s cancellation, Senator Nampijinpa Price told NOTA that the hotel gathering was a “private event for National Party members”.

“A group of people who were not members of the National Party also chose to attend the location of the planned event,” she said.

“While in attendance at the location, some of those non-members became verbally abusive, aggressive and implied possible use of violence… as well directing derogatory and aggressive comments at members of the National Party.

“This kind of behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in a democratic nation like Australia.

“I have, in recent times, received threats of violence, death and sexual abuse, and my family have also been subject to threatening behaviour.

“Whether those threatening individuals are from this area is unknown, but that is the background against which the behaviour expressed today must be considered, and on that basis, a decision was made to cancel the event.”

Senator Price said there was no need to consult the local Indigenous community ahead of the meeting.

“Any assertion that local Elders should be notified and permission sought before a Senator or Member of the Australian Parliament holds a private event in their area is completely baseless,” she said.

The Senator said she will “continue to speak out about issues that demand urgent attention such as the rampant domestic and family violence and sexual abuse that occurs within Indigenous communities”.

Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan said it was disappointing that a member of Parliament “can’t visit and speak with members and supporters of a party that have invited her to come”.

“I have been asked by local National Party members on numerous occasions over the past three years to organise a visit from Jacinta,” he said.

“We are all free to have thoughts and opinions, and we are all free to disagree, but intimidation in an effort to silence an elected Senator at a small local meet-and-greet event is not an acceptable method of communication.”

 

By Douglas CONNOR