Mandurah Forum Big W and Coles stores accused of ‘racial vilification’

But Mr Lawrence believes it is one of those characteristics that has led to discrimination at a local shopping centre. 

In several separate incidents, Mr Lawrence believes he has been subject to racial vilification. 

In the self-service area of a local store, Mr Lawrence said he felt like he was at “the lowest point” in his life after an incident between himself and a store employee. 

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A frequent visitor to the Mandurah Forum, Mr Lawrence usually does his shopping without a hassle. 

However, what he has encountered during several visits across the past three months has been quite the opposite. 

He has accused Coles and Big W in the Mandurah Forum of racial profiling. 

According to Mr Lawrence, it all started while grocery shopping at Coles in October 2018. 

While shopping with his partner Ash, her 17-year-old brother and his four-year-old niece, Mr Lawrence said they were followed by a store employee. 

Throughout the fresh produce and poultry section, a woman was reportedly intently watching his family. 

When they were checking out in the self-service area, the woman told them she needed to verify their items as she believed they had failed to scan them correctly. 

Mr Lawrence said they were the only people reviewed in the checkout zone and the only people of Aboriginal descent he could spot in the store. 

The second incident occurred on December 26, while Mr Lawrence and his partner were in Big W.

The couple say they felt like they were being watched and were subject to negative behaviour by a young male employee when they asked for help. 

When the couple returned to the store on January 3, Mr Lawrence said they were subject to rude behaviour by the same male employee. 

According to Mr Lawrence, the young staff member followed him throughout his shopping experience. 

The man then followed the couple into the self-service area, despite working in a separate department.   

He allegedly told the couple he needed to verify every item as he suspected they had been stealing and, at one point, snatched items out of Mr Lawrence’s hands. 

Mr Lawrence said he and his family were the only people in the area who appeared to be Aboriginal and said he felt vilified.

When he told the employee how he felt the man allegedly walked off, back to his department. Mr Lawrence then spoke to management, who apologised for the staff member’s behaviour. 

“Sometimes it goes over my head but then when incidents like the one that happened at Big W… you actually feel targeted directly and it is confronting,” he said. 

“It is really hard to walk away and say to your partner, or whoever it is, ‘obviously they’re just uneducated’.

“That’s the hardest part.”

On Tuesday, a BIG W spokeswoman told the Mandurah Mail the company was aware of the incident and had attempted to contact Mr Lawrence. 

“At BIG W, we want all customers to feel welcome when they shop in our stores,” she said.

“Like many retailers, our teams will ask to check customer bags at the self-service check out from time to time. 

“When a new team member joins BIG W, they are required to complete a thorough store induction training program which includes our policies, safety practices, and behavioural expectations, outlined in the Woolworths Group Code of Conduct. 

“We always aim to do this in a respectful and professional way. We take customer complaints very seriously.”

A Coles spokeswoman said the Mandurah Forum store had supported a number of NAIDOC week events and delivered a number of employment programs in the area over the past four years.

“Coles is committed to providing a workplace and shopping environment that embraces and celebrates inclusion and diversity,” she told the Mail.

“Coles has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan that is supported by a dedicated Indigenous team of five.  

“Since 2011 the number of Indigenous team members working in our stores has increased from 65 to over 4,100.

“Coles regularly delivers cultural learning for our store teams, with a particular focus on department managers and store managers.  

“The sessions are facilitated by an external expert who has a long-term contract to deliver cultural learning for us nationally.

“Our vision for diversity is to create and maintain a safe, inclusive and diverse workplace that is reflective of all the community and customers we serve.”

According to Mr Lawrence, this isn’t the first time he has felt discriminated. 

While umpiring a junior football match in 2012, Mr Lawrence said he was abused by a spectator. 

The incident was dealt with by the football association and the accused was taken through the tribunal. 

Mr Lawrence said while he had that process of support on the football field, it did not apply in a shopping centre.

“You want to go to the shopping centre without the fear of walking into a store and being targeted because of your race or your cultural identity,” he said. 

“It is not only as an Aboriginal person but as anyone who walks in there.

“You feel like you have to start defending yourself in someway, just to make a point because you’re being watched. 

“[In the past] I’ve been called all the names in under the sun. I walked away from that incident to the car and I had that feeling. It was upsetting inside but I also felt like I was at the lowest point of my life. I’ve never experienced that.

“I know there are other stories like mine of Aboriginal people who have been in a similar situation. 

“There are even very successful people who have still been targeted by that small minority that we have in the community.

“It has to stop.

“By educating and really putting it out. This is how we’re going to change things. We need to learn to not make mistakes.”

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Follow Caitlyn Rintoul on Twitter via @caitlynrintoul or get in touch with her through caitlyn.rintoul@fairfaxmedia.com.au.