For the first time, a First Nations person in Victoria has used the state’s laws to successfully argue they have been racially vilified.  

Monica Morgan, a widely known and respected senior member of the Yorta Yorta Nation, lodged an application in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) last November that argued she had been racially vilified by a feral horse preservation group.  

Morgan, through her lawyers at Environmental Justice Australia, said she had been subjected to years of bullying and intimidation from the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group over Yorta Yorta Nation support of government policy to remove feral horses from Barmah National Park. 

This bullying took the form of public posters, including images of Morgan’s face, and racist slogans, posts and comments on social media, which Morgan told the tribunal incited hatred and serious contempt against her and Yorta Yorta people on the basis of race. In evidence presented to the tribunal, Morgan described the impact of seeing the posters, witnessing regular demonstrations held by the feral horse group outside the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, including during NAIDOC week, and being followed and targeted in public.  

No defence was made to the allegations. On September 11 this year, VCAT declared that the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group had breached the prohibition on racial vilification in Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. 

Yorta Yorta senior member Monica Morgan says, 

‘For far too long, Yorta Yorta people have had to put up with abuse that incites hatred against us. This racial vilification has been happening for over 200 years.’ 

‘This racism is not new for Yorta Yorta people. My mother Elizabeth Morgan-Hoffman experienced similar acts of racism in the 1980s while standing up for Yorta Yorta Peoples right to protect a site of cultural significance in the Barmah State Forest.’ 

‘This decision is a small victory that shows the white legal system can sometimes acknowledge the detrimental harm of the society it represents. The system is stacked against us but this time it has worked. It’s important our mob know they can utilise this.’ 

Environment Justice Australia lawyer Virginia Trescowthick, says: 

‘The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group overstepped the mark on what is considered reasonable freedom of expression.’ 

‘Rather than engage with the substance of government policy to protect the environmental and cultural values of the Barmah National Park, some members of the feral horse preservation group instead spent their time attacking and intimidating Ms Morgan. VCAT has declared that their conduct amounted to racial vilification, which is a form of violence.’ 

‘The Barmah Brumby Preservation Group have so far ignored VCAT’s decision. It’s time they complied with VCAT’s orders, including by apologising to our client, her family and the Yorta Yorta people.  

A fair outcome 

VCAT upheld Ms Morgan’s claims, and on September 11 this year it declared the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group had racially vilified Morgan, in contravention of Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic). 

VCAT ordered the Barmah Brumby Preservation Group to provide a written apology addressed to Ms Morgan, her family and the Yorta Yorta people that acknowledges the harm suffered from this racial vilification.  

The group was also ordered to remove all posters that it had created, sold and displayed that contained depictions or references to Morgan, the Yorta Yorta National Aboriginal Corporation or the Yorta Yorta people, and to stop publishing racially vilifying material on social media.  

These orders have not been complied with by the feral horse protection group. 

Feral horse removal  

It is the Victorian government’s policy to protect the Barmah Forest International Ramsar site as listed in 1982 and restore native grasses in the Barmah national park by removing introduced plant and animal species, including feral horses. Parks Victoria is responsible for removing the feral horses, while the Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board, through the joint management plan for Barmah National Park, is supportive of the policy. 

Rather than engage with the policy, which is backed by scientific evidence and implemented by a government agency, some members of the feral horse preservation group launched a campaign of personal attacks and intimidation of traditional owners.