Themes in the reporting of the Cronulla riots
Theme 2 – White right
The first reports of involvement by white supremacist groups in the Cronulla
riots emerged on December 12. The Australian, The Sydney
Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph reported that various
groups were represented among the rioters, but only two were identified
by name. The Australian revealed (in two articles) that Australia
First had helped to mobilise people for the “demonstration”
and distributed anti-immigrant and anti-multicultural literature to the
crowds. The SMH quoted one rioter handing out anti-immigration
literature to the crowd, who explained: “[I] don’t know what
this shit is … I agree with it, whatever it is”, while a member
of Australia First watched teenagers pass out the literature he had given
them earlier. The Daily Telegraph revealed that rioters carried
posters from the Patriotic Youth League (PYL), but a spokesperson from
the league said he had been forbidden to comment on the riots. More substantial
coverage of the involvement of supremacist groups was reported on December
13. The SMH published a page 5 report detailing the involvement
of supremacist groups under the headline “Who’d have thought
it – Blinky Bill, the face of race hatred – GROUPS IN SPOTLIGHT;
Riots Search For Answers”. The article revealed that police were
investigating the role supremacist groups had played in the riots, naming
the PYL, Australia First and a new group called “White Sydney”.
Jim Saleam from Australia First blamed police overreaction for the violence,
while Luke Conners of the PYL dismissed the group’s involvement,
saying: “We’re just young blokes standing up for our own sort
… as soon as the scuffles began, they got out and went to the pub.”
The Australian published a page 4 article detailing the involvement of
various groups. The report revealed that Australia First members had recruited
people to attend the demonstration with “local supporters”
mobilising “their family, friends, mates, work-mates”. The
group denied any role in the text message campaign to mobilise participants
and denied being involved in any of the violence that occurred. Connors
from the PYL confirmed that group members had attended, but stated “there
was only a few people there, mostly girls with their boyfriends, handing
out leaflets …” and asserted that “we didn’t plan
a full-on operation. Australia First did, not us”. The Newcastle-based
skinhead group Blood and Honour also handed out literature among the crowd.
The only mention in the Daily Telegraph was a passing reference
to Australia First exploiting the local “tensions for its own racist
ends”, made in an opinion piece by Piers Akerman. By December 14
the reporting had moved on from the supremacists groups and the only mentions
of their involvement were made in overviews of the week’s events.
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