Journalist Stan Grant’s article, in which he claimed that the statue of Captain James Cook in Sydney’s Hyde Park is a “hymn to whiteness” and that Aboriginal people are “invisible” and merely a “postscript to Australian history” has reignited the debates about our history. The piece was written in the shadow of events in the US, where demands have been made to tear down Confederate and other monuments.
The Rev. Fred Nile comments:
- “I don’t understand why public commentators in Australia slavishly follow the trends of US liberal elites. It’s almost as if there is no original thought among them, all they can do is parrot clichés from overseas.”
- “What Australia needs is constructive dialogue if we are to reach an understanding between every member of our diverse nation. Framing the debate about our history in the language of ‘us’ and ‘them’ can only embitter relations between indigenous and other Australians.”
- “The relationship between the settlers and indigenous Australians has indeed been problematic, but it would be dishonest to suggest that the authorities didn’t make genuine and serious attempts to bring all Australian’s together. The Governor Davey’s Proclamation is a typical example of this.”
- “Articles such as Grant’s dishonour all Australians of goodwill who have done so much to bring us all together.”
Media inquiries: Rev Hon Fred Nile MLC: (02) 9230 2478
Sharon Jones, CDP Office: (02) 9633 3255
Pic Credit: Wiki Commons, Image circulated in colonial Australia illustrating that all Australians are equal before the law and subject to equal justice.