Two prominent Aboriginal academics are seeking $100,000 each in compensation in a racial discrimination claim against a service station in Townsville.
Professor Gracelyn Smallwood and Dr Stephen Hagan say that the incident occurred at a Shell service station in Belgian Gardens two weeks ago.
In a formally lodged complaint, Bindal Elder Professor Smallwood alleges that a service station attendant locked her fuel pump as she was attempting to fill her car, while other non-Indigenous customers were able to freely access the fuel.
Ms Smallwood, who is a Member of the Order of Australia and a renowned nurse and midwife, said she was forced to request that her pump be unlocked, and that the incident left her feeling "humiliated and intimidated".
After informing Dr Hagan about the incident, the author and racism activist says he went to the station himself, and claims he was also discriminated against by the same attendant because he was Aboriginal.
Professor Gracelyn Smallwood. Source: NITV
"I showed up 10-15 minutes later and went to fill up," Dr Hagan told NITV News.
"I couldn't get any petrol out of the bowser, so I walked inside and said to the attendant 'mate I can't get any fuel out.'"
"I asked him directly if he was discriminating against Aboriginal people and he told me to 'get out of here' and threatened to call the police.
"These are serious issues. I have to now wonder if the next service station I stop into will racially profile me... I got a lot of calls from First Nations people who said look, it happens to me every day," he said.
Mr Hagan told NITV News that the pair decided to file a complaint with the International Human Rights Commission, with a hearing now scheduled for April 21.
He said the incident had caused profound humiliation and pain for both parties, which motivated them to act on it immediately.
"It isn't about the money... They need to be accountable and nowadays, the only way to hurt anybody is in the pocket.
"I've insisted that they implement cultural awareness training for all their employees so they know the consequences of racially vilifying someone on the basis of their skin colour," Mr Hagan said.
Professor Smallwood told NITV News that the interaction made her feel intimidated, and traumatised.
"It is a continual issue of racial discrimination, it's out there and unless we deal with it head-on by doing things... it will continue because people who are racist think it's normal behavior until they're challenged.
Professor Smallwood said the onus falls on businesses to ensure their staff is culturally aware and appropriate in their dealings with customers.
The pair have also engaged an experienced class action litigator, Stewart Levitt, to facilitate their claim.
Mr Levitt told NITV News that he believed that the claim had strong grounds to be successful.
Mr Levitt said that he found it particularly interesting that Mr Hagan's previous claim was made against a service station under different ownership at the same premises.
"These people are observably and discernibly Indigenous, and were victimised in the same way," he said.
In a statement given to media, Night Owl Convenience, who manage the service station, said it was investigating the claims that had been made against the employee.
