The alleged attack on two 12-year-old boys in Mildura by an adult man has spawned largely unmoderated racist comments online encouraging further violence, despite the children being completely innocent of any wrongdoing.

Last week, two 12-year-old Aboriginal boys were hospitalised with serious injuries after a man allegedly chased and struck them with a ute in Mildura whilst they rode a motorised pushbike.

One of the children was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne in a serious condition. The Mildura Magistrates' Court was told on Wednesday he suffered a broken arm and leg, broken ribs and sternum, and a collapsed lung, whilst the other child suffered concussion.

Children 'blameless'

Andrew Brien, 57, from Gol Gol in New South Wales, has been charged with four counts of reckless conduct endangering life, dangerous driving causing serious injury, driving in a dangerous manner and/or speed.

It was alleged Mr Brien crossed the border to the Mildura CBD and began patrolling the area after hearing a business owned by his partner had been burgled.

Police Detective Senior Constable Mitchell Carew was unequivocal about the two boys' blamelessness, telling the court: "I can categorically say these two boys, on this night, are not involved in any offence with the business or elsewhere."

"This isn't a momentary snap," Prosecutor Raphael de Vietri said, as reported by the ABC, arguing it was "horrific offending" and "grossly unjustified".

"He was dead set on mowing those two children down."

Magistrate Patrick Southey told the court on Wednesday: "It's outrageous — some of the commentary about the boys — who are completely blameless."

Despite the evidence that the two injured children were innocent, comments have abounded on social media — largely unmoderated — celebrating Mr Brien's actions, calling for further vigilante justice and even offering to buy him a beer to celebrate. Numerous media publications have also failed to mention the children's Aboriginality.

Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, Senator Lidia Thorpe said there had not been the "condemnation this heinous crime demands".

"Instead, people online are calling the attacker a hero, encouraging more violence and offering to buy the man a beer," she said. "Why? Because the victims are Aboriginal children — something every news outlet except National Indigenous Times failed to mention."

In 2021, the High Court ruled in Fairfax Media Publications v Voller that social media companies are legal "publishers" of third-party defamatory comments posted on their public accounts and must moderate them for defamatory comments.

Senator Thorpe alleged major news outlets have allowed comments to fester, largely unmoderated, even when they feature calls for "violence to be celebrated", as the pages benefit "from the clicks".

"No-one should see violence against their children or community being celebrated or joked about," she said.

National Indigenous Times understands the family has also expressed their devastation over the social media commentary.

Racist comments on social media

This masthead has seen a letter from Senator Thorpe to one media company asking why, even when comments were restricted on the story, previous comments calling for and/or celebrating violence remained online.

"...at the time of writing, dozens of comments remain visible on your page falsely portraying these children — the victims — as perpetrators, while other comments appear to condone further violence," she wrote.

She argued the decision to leave the comments up "allows demonstrably false claims to gain legitimacy and exposes these children and their families to further harm and racism".

"The children and their families should not have to endure a second wave of harm because false claims about them are being allowed to spread beneath a major news organisation's coverage," she wrote.

'They pulled out in front of me'

Police prosecutors told the court on Wednesday that Mr Brien allegedly slammed his Ford Ranger into the children in the pedestrian-only mall. He allegedly did not apply the brakes or take evasive action while travelling at close to 80 km/h before his vehicle struck the children.

After CCTV showed him failing to render assistance to one child trapped under his vehicle, he called Triple Zero, telling them, "They pulled out in front of me. It's dark," according to reports from the ABC.

Mr Brien was bailed on Wednesday, with a strict curfew and non-driving instructions, after the magistrate noted the prospect of delay in the trial.

The incident was raised during Melbourne hearings of the inquiry into racism towards First Peoples last week. In the Senate this week, Senator Thorpe said racism in Australia is "rising", and is "leading to real violence".

"We heard repeatedly during the racism inquiry that the racism we experience on our streets and online is turning towards real violence, and nothing is being done to stop it," she said.

Gellung Warl, the Aboriginal new governance structure in Victoria, referenced the incident on the weekend, arguing: "Enough is enough."

"We are deeply concerned about the [alleged] attack on two children in Mildura," they wrote.

"Our strength and support is with the families and communities in the North West affected at this time. If you're mob living in Victoria, it's important to take care of each other and reach out for support if you're struggling."

1800 Respect (1800 737 732)

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Yarning Safe'N'Strong (1800 959 563)

Beyond Blue (1300 22 46 36)