The new leader of the far-left Greens party has been booed by patriotic Aussies for making an aboriginal “land acknowledgment” during a protest against the sale of an iconic Sydney defence facility.
Thousands of demonstrators, including former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, and a large group of One Nation supporters, gathered opposite the Victoria Barracks in Darlinghurst on Sunday to call for the sale to be abandoned.
The 120-year-old heritage site is among 67 Australian Defence Force properties being sold off by the federal Labor government, with 600 personnel set to be moved to other facilities as early as next month.
Leader of the Greens David Shoebridge gets booed by military veterans and patriots at the Victoria Barracks protest opposing its sell off.
Shoebridge attempted to do an “aboriginal land acknowledgement” and was booed and told to “shut up”. https://t.co/dOEYoyA6mu
— Lone Patriot (@LonePatriot14) October 25, 2026
A video shared on X showed Greens leader David Shoebridge referring to previous speakers’ acknowledgements of the military history of the site, which he said was “right to do”.
“I’m also going to acknowledge the deep history of this place, and the gadigal history of this place,” he said, before being drowned out by boos.
“And I’m not going to say … and that’s a fundamental length, what I’m now going to talk about is what’s in front of us here today,” he continued as more boos rang out and some members of the crowd shouted “get off” and “shut up”.
Mr Shoebridge was also booed while calling for the government to pull out if its AUKUS security partnership with the US and UK to raise funds instead.
NSW Opposition leader Kellie Sloane promised to introduce new legislation protecting defence sites if elected at next year’s state election, and the rally was also attended by Labor MPs Marjorie O’Neill and David Harris, The Daily Telegraph reported.
“If I become premier next year, I will introduce legislation to make sure no government can ever sell off our military history,” Ms Sloane said.
“No Labor government, no Liberal government, no government at all. It belongs to you, not to the Prime Minister.”
“Let’s be very clear: the federal government is weaponising the obedience of the defence force and silencing them. We must be their voice,” Dr O’Neill said.
“We are custodians. We are not liquidators. It is our job to protect these sites for future generations. This is not unused land. This is an active defence site and it has huge historical significance.”
Mr Abbott said he was glad to see no Palestinian flags and only Australian flags in the crowd, and Mr Howard described the site as a “precious, irreplaceable, not-for-sale national asset”.
Header image: Mr Shoebridge being booed (X).
