A Sydney local councillor says the acknowledgement of country ceremony "divides us more" as a nation, saying Indigenous people "too turned up on our shores unannounced" and Australia's success is "thanks to European settlement".
"However if you were to suggest we should also acknowledge people bought [sic] against their will from England in 1788, and European settlement for making our country what it is today plus those who fought and died for us then yes I would agree."In a second email, Cr Collins, 58, said Indigenous people "too turned up on our shores unannounced".
Ms Gallaway, who emailed Cr Collins on Mabo Day after seeing an online petition calling for an acknowledgement, said her initial reaction to his reply was shock, then sadness. Multiple motions to include an acknowledgement of country have been struck down by the council's Liberal majority in recent years, most recently in May 2017.
I notice this guy is another OAM. For services to athletics, ie running the Hills District Little Athletics, so at least that’s genuine. Let’s hope his vicious views on indigenous reconciliation are not leaking out to the kids. Else we will never ‘move forward’.
Clr Collins: All surrounding Councils and State government bodies make a simple acknowledgement of the REALITY of the country they are on, as a small gesture of reconciliation for past injustice and as a way to move forward. By refusing, you pointedly make the opposite statement.
Last part gets me the most, 'Success'. Why are we so quick to think that the Euro way is the only 'success'? We forget how much colonisation stole from the countries invaded thus leading to the euro 'success'. Wonder what he thinks should be done for equity & justice?
Aboriginal Australia populated the whole Earth over 100,000 years ago. What?
I like Welcome to Country when it includes specific infiramation about re the place and people. I can’t stand the boring corporate regurgitations.
This counsellor is just another racist.
We're both invaders because it's not impossible for there to have been an indigenous-committed genocide 70k years ago. Makes total sense. Can't show the bare minimum respect to the dispossessed traditional owners of the land because it divides us. How about a treaty instead?
First invaders.
In 40,000 years the Abirigines did not build a single CentreLink Office or Grog shop. What ingratitude.!!!
This has to be whitey talking shit again ...
You can't change what happened but you can acknowledge what happened. It's called history. That's why history repeats itself... because motherfuckers don't listen.
I have always thought it to be not genuine
Constructed
Welcome to Country is nowhere near as divisive as the Protestant's Our Father opening parliament
Truth bomb!
Not sure why people feel as though it divides - it is literally traditional culture to welcome and acknowledge people through country. You are literally being invited to participate in Aboriginal culture and ceremony and you think that’s ‘divisive’? Shame on you
someone2c It's like quoting from a 1940s history book. Despicable and DIVISIVE behaviour from a councillor.
Wow. It sure does divide us. Makes it super easy to see who the racists are among us.
Sydney councillor should be fired.
He’s an idiot. It shows respect for the First Nation indigenous people and respect for the land that nourishes us all
Any1 wants to blame some1 for past mistakes then you should be asking the royals of europe. Only reason why they are who they are is because of past doings. Such as slavery. But its them. Not whites of today. Well some of the older generations have alot to mistakes aswell.
🤢🤮
we have no need for State govt or local council...
The Hills Shire Council pray to a Christian god before each meeting. Why isn’t that considered divisive?
australia was a successful country for thousands of years before Europeans turned up with healthy immunity against diseases they introduced because of their filthy habits !
A white supremacist struggling with logic, historical events and chronology. No evidence of a master race ever found, says every person capable of reason.
EVER SO REFRESHING IN THIS WORLD OF UTTER BS to hear what everybody is really thinking being said IN ALL HONESTY.
He should have stuck to his critique of the Welcome to Country
This is where this stupid ritual came from. Ernie Dingo and Richard Whalley, of the Middar Aboriginal Theatre, invented the “welcome to country” in 1976 as two pairs of Maori visitors from NZ wanted an equivalent of their own traditional ceremony when visiting the Perth festival
Got my vote
Same old nonsense which basically translates to rendering indigenous people invisible, voiceless, powerless &, in time, EXTINCT!
This councillor is the Australian of the year. Not playing the politically correct line and telling the truth. We are all equal and should all respect each other’s differences and history. No one is better than the other.
How about this....Let’s just all try to get on, treat each other with respect and care, look to the future and stop trying to dissect something dreadful that happened way before any of us were around, can’t vouch for, wasn’t our fault and we didn’t support. Anyone fancy that?
I happen to live in the LGA, will make my voice very loud & clear about my thoughts on Brooke Collins, not to mention his inability to use punctuation
F*&k right off with this bs
Eeedeeot.
Is it a success that European invaded Aborigines land Country,been killed abused made slaves,Working and in bad pay conditions?Aborigines body's power have been the work of Australia success,by been money making machines,not maintenance,just profits for first European business?
Say what?!!!
that's true
Ummm... are those claiming that acknowledgment to country is dividing... forgetting the genocide of the aboriginal people when the Europeans invaded their land?! This land will ALWAYS be theirs.
You play with the fire, now you get into flames.
Hills Shire no doubt, the wannabe Shire which is even worse than the actual Shire!
Why is it that whenever a chance for change comes, and people open themselves to realities, there’s always a couple of morons who have to whip up more outrage by making utterly asinine remarks? Do they really not know how to engage their brains before opening their mouths
This flag is privately owned, and not free even for Aborigines Australian Flag is for the people.
Truth is no one 'owns' Earth. We're just .... here.
Two more simpletons bite the dust Hahahahaha hahaha
Not read the article but my money is on Hills or Sutherland Shire
All true . 👍🇦🇺
Wasn’t the welcome to country ceremony devised by Ernie Dingo in the 70s?
👏 👏 👏
🤦♀️🤮🤮🤢🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤑
Well someone who’s prepared to tell the truth, well done.
The councillor is an imbecile
There is some truth in that. I suspect that acknowledgement of country is little more than a sop thought up by a white person to give the impression of caring for the indigenous.
I feel acknowledgement of country reminds me of the name of the people who were here before me and this is important. I feel that I should know their names and if anything I should know more about their culture and even a few words in their language.
australia’s success success at what exactly? at driving native species extinct thanks to european settlers’ greed and sheer unadulterated malice?
It's the truth and that's why most of you don't know what to say.
what's the country ceremony?
Riiigghhht, so successfully living on this land for 60,000 years was a fluke?
Yep, just like the HAKA divides NZ society
This bloke needs a long, hard look at himself.
Sigh...
Racism rears its ugly head again, unsurprisingly, in Australia.
MorpheusBeing Well there's a forerunner for wanker of the year !
Could you lot be anymore tone deaf?!!!
can't disagree with the truth
So our indigenous brothers & sisters turned up on continental Australia unannounced, what?, 60,000 years ago to a land that was then likely terra nullius . How dare they! Is the councillor a simpleton?
Is it so difficult to be just nice and respectful?
SURELY THIS IS A JOKE RIGHT?!
The recent 'acknowledgment of country' ritual does nothing to unite anyone but serves to sharply divide our citizens by race.
However our indigenous peoples have been on this land for over 60,000 years, while the Europeans have been on this land for less than 300 years and in many ways are destroying what we have day by day.
They're not wrong
These morons can feel free to exit the country any time they want.
I think it is correct.
Honestly, that statement is so illogical it shouldn’t be given any space.
Civilisation is awesome ♥️
Never forget the pygmies.
Well there is an election coming up. Councillor Brooke Collins OAM. Clr B L Collins OAM - North Ward. Political Affiliation: Liberal Party of Australia
Never forget the pygmies.
This is disgusting! How, in this day and age, can people still be so ignorant? It doesn’t divide us, it unites us. This idiot is the one that divides us. We still have a lot to learn about inclusivity 😢
This is a fair point. We are proud of Europeans!
For those interested
Yeh, nah! Why does that divide us - what rubbish!
Councilors like this are petty and small minded. They use extraneous reasons to not to show cultural sensitivity. Ignorance is divisive not history. Truth telling is an important part of Reconciliation. People must let him know they reject his shallow ideology.
What is important here, is that we all recognise... We all recognise that Aborigines need to stop Cultural Appropriation, of promoting a flag. It offends me and my western culture.
I agree, it divides us
That old chestnut again
Finally a councillor that's gets it right.
Absolutely shocking behaviour from someone meant to represent the citizens of the Hills
What utter nonsense.
Totally agree. Totally also hate Trump and support black lives matter. We don't all have to buy everything on each side of the issue of perceived racism
Well , the native peoples of OZ did in invade OZ with a land bridge or small isles hop from Asia
Can the SMH please enlighten me - what motivated you to run a story on such blatant trash and give Councillor Brooke Collins the light of day?
Is it really that hard to acknowledge that indigenous peoples were here before us? The AOC is just a respectful “tip of the hat” and creates no division until someone refuses to complete it. I trust the ballot box will eventually catch up to his spite.
Wow... 😑😑
Why is it so difficult to not be shitty?
Indigenous have excellent skin physiology to deal with heat and cold. Their dna has also brilliant sight beyond 20/20. They do not see in square, but round. So any so called IQ tests are invalid. The starting point is ' language ' the end point is ' understanding '.
Even if they turned up on shores, they did not turn up on YOUR shores. At that time, you were not even born to say 'our.' So first check your memory before talking about division and unity.
...humanity has been displacing and wiping each other out since the dawn of time and the competition for resources...to think otherwise is to deny reality however to ratify brutality in the modern era as a plausible pretext for consolidation and domination is indefensible...
pat_speed
Yep.
oh, ffs
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