Communiqué from the Department of Homo Affairs – #resist250


On Saturday 28th of February, the Department of Homo Affairs detected and intercepted an UNAUTHORISED ENTRY at the 42nd Mardi Gras Parade. We are happy to report that the Liberal Party of NSW float was successfully turned back and will not make Mardi Gras their home.

The Department of Homo Affairs has further important intelligence to pass on to the public regarding serious breaches by the same party and their interests. 

Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy (RATE) and Autonomous Collective Against Racism (ACAR) have notified our department of an UNAUTHORISED ENTRY into Warrane (‘Sydney Harbour’). 

The vessel in question is currently positioned outside the Australian Maritime Museum (2 Murray St, Sydney NSW 2000) and is known as the REPLICA ENDEAVOUR. 

We have gained access to plans for this vessel to circumnavigate the continent. These plans were designed by the Member for Cook, code name: SCUMO. 

Esteemed RATE spokesperson Jenny Munro describes the plans:

The fake Endeavour is planned to go on a fake circumnavigation re-enactment, by a fake captain, to celebrate the fake Australian sovereignty claim of a continent belonging to the many nations of the oldest culture on earth.

First Nations people all around the continent of so-called Australia are demanding a stop to the Endeavour. Resistance is mounting across the region. Already in Aotearoa the communities at Mangōnui and Gisborne on the North Island have barred the ship from docking.

With the replica Endeavour currently berthed in Warrane (‘Sydney Harbour’), RATE, ACAR and Wreck the Endeavour collective have made clear that any attempted movement or celebration of that vessel, or the colonisation that it glorifies, will continue to be resisted with strength from this location. 

The Department of Homo Affairs stands in solidarity with First Nations people calling this boat an UNAUTHORISED ENTRY. In line with government policy, the REPLICA ENDEAVOUR WILL BE detained and processed for an undefined period. We call for broad support for this project.

We note the history on this subject. 

In 1770, James Cook sailed the Endeavour into Kamay. He renamed that place Botany Bay. He failed to ask for consent to land. He shot at the Gweagal people who asked him to leave. This INVASION was without consent and contravened British maritime law. 

JC’s first words ashore were “How good is Terror Nullius. How good is Genocide”. And now the Member for Cook keeps the fire burning.

The mythology that Australia was ever empty is tied to the delusion that it is now full. The Liberal Party has committed $6.7 million towards the replica Endeavour’s ‘Encounters’ tour, a voyage intended to reinscribe trauma and narratives of white supremacy. Meanwhile the Australian Government’s  Operation Sovereign Borders has cost  $62.2 million on border patrol and boat turn backs from 2018-2020

Using state-of-the-art technology, the Department of Homo Affairs has detected a deep-seated paranoid nationalism in this data. We believe this paranoia to be built on white Australia’s knowledge of its own unauthorised entry. 

As stated, the Liberal Party is celebrating invasion. At Mardi Gras, they invaded our celebration. Unauthorised entries can, must and will be resisted. 

The Department of Homo Affairs extend the call from First Nations organisations to get actively involved in solidarity with #RESIST250. We encourage the public to research First Nations resistance organised in their area and to heed calls for action. 

Be alarmed and alert to the second coming of Cook. 

The Gweagal Bidjigal Sovereign Tribal Elders Council have called for a mass mobilisation on their country in Kamay (‘Botany Bay’) to mark the 250-year anniversary of Gweagal Bidjigal and First Nations Resistance on this continent. This event will take place from 26 April to 6 May. Please make your way to this significant convergence with energy, solidarity and care. 

We also strongly urge you to contact the Australian Maritime Museum and ask questions about the highly suspect and dangerous boat they are housing – ASAP. It is at times of crisis that the actions of EVERY person count. 

And remember: If you see something, say something. 

Any sightings of white nationalism can be reported to 1800 06 1800. No incident is too small.

The Department of Homo Affairs

The Department of Homo Affairs is a collective of radical queer activists and artists based on Dharawal and Gadigal land We are interested in playful and performative disruptions to neo colonial border politics. We work in solidarity with First Nations people and struggles as well as people seeking asylum and refuge on this continent.

More by The Department of Homo Affairs ›

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