The establishment of the Australia’s first Tribal Lore Enforcement initiative in the Bourke Shire follows the widely criticised response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Enngonia.  

The first Tribal Lore Enforcement vehicle was dispatched this week in Bourke in an attempt to maintain and uphold local Indigenous tribal lore in a shire where almost 40 per cent of the population is Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.  

The unarmed enforcement officers attend scenes with a bodycam, notepad and pen, hoping to mitigate situations and the need for NSW Police. 

In an Interview by Tangiora Hinaki on Ngaarda Radio, the First Nations Activist behind the initiative Bruce Shillingsworth said it is part of the process of realigning back to tribal lore.  

“Tribal lore enforcement came about because local police aren’t listening to our elders, and not wanting to understand or acknowledge our traditional systems of law,” Mr Shillingsworth said.  

Driven by a group of elders in the Bourke and Enngonia communities, the establishment of the enforcement authority was driven by the recent focus on the community where strict Stay-At-Home measures prompted the campaign #ProtectEnngonia. 

The campaign saw dozens of citizens gathering at Bourke’s police station on October 21 armed with protest signs and questions for local police. The local police did not engage.

When Covid-19 ravaged the Enngonia village, a community with a population of less than 200, the state response to protect the community was the deployment of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to the region not only for vaccination clinics, but to assist with community aid and compliance checks as well.

Representatives of the community alleged that the ADF was intimidating and scaring locals into staying at home.  

“Our elders had to sit down together because the covid response was more of a concern than deaths due to covid,” Mr Shillingsworth said.  

In response to the claim, a spokesperson for the NSW Police said that the public safety and wellbeing remains a priority.  

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, police worked closely with NSW government, non-government agencies and community members to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the public,” the spokesperson said.  

In addition, the lack of access to food and medication experienced during Enngonia's outbreak made national headlines.  

Lore Enforcement Officer Bruce Shillingsworth Jr took to Facebook prior to October 21, inviting public support.  

“We’re beyond writing letters to the ministers, beyond talking to police, beyond social media support. We need people out here on the ground that will be able to assist the community and hold the fort until the community can get a grip on food, security, and stability,” Mr Shillingsworth Jr said.  

In the coming weeks, the Tribal Lore Enforcement will secure their second vehicle for the area and deploy their services throughout the Bourke LGA.  

Mr Shillingsworth says this is just the beginning in tackling an issue that has been ‘compounded’ over time and will hopefully be a step towards lowering Indigenous incarceration and deaths in incarceration. 

“This is an effort to rebuild from that damage done in the past 200 years,” Mr Shillingsworth said. 

NSW Police stated that they will continue to maintain a strong presence in Bourke and Enngonia.