An Aboriginal leader has slammed the Albanese government’s support of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying First Nations governance should be brought in.
Muruwarri and Budjiti man Bruce Mukadda Shillingsworth, 34, said he supports Iran and condemned Israel and the United States, claiming Canberra had sided with two nations that ‘don’t contribute’.
‘Let’s talk about the colonial competency to manage and to run a country here for a second,’ he said.
‘And why First Nations – even now more than ever – need to be brought forward to continue to govern this continent.
‘The (Australian govenrment) choose to side with two completely useless countries, and yes, I’m talking about Israel and America, that do not contribute to the necessity of the Australian construct.
‘Those two countries do not contribute to the health, welfare, well-being, or the best interest of the Australian construct.
‘Even worse, Australia has sided with those two completely useless countries against a country that partially provides oil and that has the ability to stop Australia’s oil supply. And yes, I’m talking about Iran.
‘It is complete stupidity. It is suicide. It is like hacking off your own, completely good, useful limb for no reason at all.’
Muruwarri and Budjiti man Bruce Mukadda Shillingsworth (pictured) criticised the government for supporting US-Israeli strikes on Iran
He said the government had chosen the US and Israel over a nation that partially provides oil, Iran, to Australians (pictured, no petrol available in Rockdale, Sydney, on March 25)
Mr Shillingsworth, who is from New South Wales, also criticised the Albanese government’s decision to send military assistance to the Persian Gulf.
The Prime Minister announced on March 10 that the Australian Defence Force would deploy an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to the United Arab Emirates.
Eighty five personnel were also deployed, and the Albanese government will provide air-to-air missiles.
‘The irony is, you’ve got mob within the Australian construct that are jumping up and down and saying, ‘Yes, we should be supporting America and we should be supporting Israel. Send the troops.” Mr Shillingsworth said.
‘You dumbasses. How do you not see that it does not contribute to the health, welfare, well-being, or the best interest of the Australian construct?’
He also called out those who support the strikes on Iran on account of the ripple effect on global fuel supplies, spiking fear among Australians.
‘Australians are now experiencing high fuel prices on top of an already (existing) cost of living crisis,’ he said.
‘I’m gobsmacked, and not just at a limited oil supply. Some of the fuel stations here are shut down. Fuel prices have gone through the roof.’
Mr Shillingsworth said these criticisms were why First Nations need to be brought forward to continue to govern this continent instead of Anthony Albanese
Albanese has called a second national cabinet meeting to discuss new emergency measures to tackle the ongoing fuel crisis.
Public transport discounts, WFH and carpooling are among the proposed measures set to be discussed by state and territory premiers next Monday.
Hospitality operators will consider imposing a five per cent surcharge on customers as transport and delivery costs surge amid the fuel crisis.
The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association has urged businesses to introduce a temporary surcharge on all meals, including takeaways.
Almost 200 petrol stations across NSW have run out of diesel, while at least 32 reported not having any fuel at all, Energy Minister Chris Bowen told parliament on Wednesday.
In Victoria, 134 are without one or more types of fuel.
Shillingsworth uses his Facebook page to share statements such as ‘First Nations hold supreme power, jurisdiction and authority over their lands’ with his 68,000 followers.
The Muruwarri and Budjiti man posts videos advising Indigenous Australians on how to deal with police, who he calls ‘foreign private corporate agents’, and has been filmed blocking their path.
Tribal Lore Enforcement covers an area of about 200 square kilometres and a population between 2,000 and 3,000 – most of them Indigenous
Shillingsworth established a body he calls ‘Tribal Lore Enforcement’ in NSW’s north-west with his father Bruce Mundagutta Shillingsworth six years ago.
He has appeared wearing a black and grey uniform and driving a white Hyundai Accent with a police-like chequered pattern and the words ‘Lore Enforcement’ emblazoned on its side.
In September 2023, Shillingsworth was convicted of aiding and abetting arson and destroying Commonwealth property in relation to a December 2021 fire which caused $5.3million to Old Parliament House.
He had appeared at the ACT Supreme Court wearing a traditional headdress and loincloth, and draped in a kangaroo pelt inscribed with a declaration of independence signed by ‘his people’.
Tribal Lore Enforcement covers an area of about 200 square kilometres and a population between 2,000 and 3,000 – most of them Indigenous – from Bourke up to Enngonia near the Queensland border.
Shillingsworth was filmed three years ago in a confrontation with police who responded to reports of illegal squatting on Ledknapper Nature Reserve at Enngonia.
‘We’ve got the police here,’ Shillingsworth said to the camera.
‘What’s happening is they’re going out onto Muruwarri country, they’re thinking that they’ve got authority. I’m going to ask them right here right now about whether they’ve got jurisdiction.
One of the officers interjected, telling Shillingsworth: ‘You’re blocking a public road’.
Another officer said, ‘You’re blocking a roadway, move your vehicle. This is a roadway in NSW.’
Shillingsworth told the officers again, ‘This is Muruwarri land,’ before warning them they were not allowed to enter traditional Aboriginal land.
After being given a direction to move his car, Shillingsworth identified himself as a ‘Lore Enforcement officer’.
‘You’re committing an offence because that land from here onwards is Muruwarri land and you should know that,’ Shillingsworth said.
Shillingsworth was subsequently charged with obstructing traffic and disobeying directions over the incident, which occurred in March 2022.
He was found guilty of both offences and fined $400 after a hearing in September 2022 at Bourke Local Court.
Shillingsworth later pleaded guilty to using a recording device inside court premises and posting the results on social media. He was placed on a nine-month conditional release order without conviction.
In another confrontation, this time outside the Oasis Hotel in Enngonia in April 2022, Shillingsworth again objected to police being on Muruwarri land.
‘You guys are trespassing,’ Shillingsworth told police in a video of that encounter. ‘We served you guys with an eviction notice and now you are overstepping that.
‘This is the second time we’ve given you a warning. Next time you come out on Muruwarri land you may be liable to prosecution under our law and you may be arrested. Do you understand that?’
Shillingsworth previously told the Daily Mail that privately funded Tribal Lore Enforcement was unlike a government-run police force.
‘First of all, there is a difference between law and lore,’ he said. ‘Lore is in reference to natural lore.
‘First Nations people have that close relationship with the land, the flora, fauna, all of it. So it’s very very different from man-made law.’
