Resident of the small town of Corowa have spoken out in support of last week’s nationalist protest, and slammed the government and corporate media for spreading misinformation.
About 50 members of right-wing activist group the National Socialist Network marched through the town on the border of New South Wales and Victoria on October 12 with a banner saying “White man fight back”, to protest against multinational meat giant JBS flooding the town with foreign workers.
The controversial Brazilian company acquired pork producer Rivalea’s Corowa plant in 2022, and has bought up premises to house its growing immigrant workforce, who are bussed to and from the sprawling piggery and processing plant outside of the town of about 5,600 people.
During the protest the black-clad demonstrators stood in front of the town’s war memorial where prominent nationalist activist Thomas Sewell made a speech telling locals the group was there to raise awareness about “the fact that White people in this town, in this country, and across the world are slowly being replaced and eradicated”.
Australian nationalists held a “White man fight back” protest in the small town of Corowa, NSW, which multinational meat giant JBS is flooding with foreign workers.
Noticer News has obtained exclusive video of Thomas Sewell’s speech.
Full details: https://t.co/jXujEQRYUc pic.twitter.com/ASxyv9TOcX
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) October 12, 2024
The peaceful demonstration was condemned by almost all media outlets and politicians from both sides of politics, including local MP and deputy Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley, but locals have since told Noticer News they welcomed the protest and were grateful that the immigrant worker issue was being discussed.
“Well done bringing light to our little town of Corowa,” one resident said.
“There are many locals who do support that cause of protest against JBS. The speaker spoke the truth, many here will not realise until its too late.
“I left that company after nearly 20 years and promptly was replaced by an ethnic person also.”
Another spoke out against the biased media coverage of the event, which ignored the issue highlighted by the protesters and made it seem like the town was uniformly opposed to the demonstration.
“If they wanted verification all they needed to do is ask any local in the street or the staff at the two supermarkets who have to deal with unruly behaviour,” one said.
“Or go to Motel Wingrove where some of them live. It’s also not difficult to find the rest of them as Rivalea bus them to and from work.”
Others were unhappy at comments made by local councillor and former Rivalea production manager David Harrison, who said he would “just double down harder on bringing our international workers into the community” in response to the protest.
“I have no affiliation with the group that staged a protest here in Corowa or the piggery,” he said on social media.
“What I saw a newly elected counsellor quoted as saying has floored me, I don’t think that should be the attitude of an elected counsellor and a board member of a mental health service.
“If I worked at the piggery I would be deeply offended by his complete disregard for locals.”
Another social media user wrote: “I live 20 minutes from Corowa. All I have heard from locals is that they’re thankful that someone is highlighting what is happening regarding the meatworks sacking all the locals and replacing them with cheap foreign labour.”
Rivalea was purchased by Brazilian giant JBS for $175 million in January 2022, and last year announced it was investing $20 million into its Corowa site to upgrade the piggery and employee amenity facilities.
Since the takeover locals have complained that JBS has brought in foreign workers, mainly from the Philippines, as well as replacing third-party carriers with their own immigrant-staffed truck fleet.
Ms Ley, a overseas-born divorcee who was caught rorting travel expenses to buy an investment property on the Gold Coast in 2017, ignored the reason for the protest and claimed it was a publicity stunt.
“They use a small town to try and get a big national headline, and we don’t want them back,” she said, claiming to speak on behalf of the community.
“It is clear this is part of a strategy to shock and provoke using regional towns … in recent months, similar activities have been rightly shut down in our cities.”
She owns multiple other investment properties in Albury, took a trip to Israel in 2022 paid for by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, and is the daughter of a British intelligence officer.
