TONY Pethick (14/2/24) is disingenuous in claiming that he is an “Indigenous” Australian with four generations of his family born in here.
He has chosen to ignore the fact that the word “indigenous”, according to the Australian Oxford Dictionary definition, means “… of or pertaining to the original inhabitants of a particular land or region”.
According to this definition Tony Pethick is NOT Indigenous!
Never was and never will be.
Many of the descendants of the invaders of this country continue to deny the shameful history of invasion and treatment of the authentic Indigenous people.
We cannot sweep under the carpet the well documented history of enforced labour, mistreatment and racial discrimination, not to mention the stolen generations of children of our Indigenous First Nations inhabitants of this country.
Mr Petherick blithely states that “Australia will never advance in outlook until we all look to the future, stop whining about the past and get on with life.”
Well, Mr Petherick, we have a shared history, but Australia will not advance until we face up to the past and accept that until we address the issue of truth telling, acknowledge the past wrongs and allow the voice of our First Nations people to be heard, the future cohesion of this country will continue to be fractured.
The Uluru Statement, a document of immense grace and generosity, invited us to take up the opportunity to join hands with our legitimate Indigenous brothers and sisters and walk together for a better future for all Australian citizens.
Jill Polkinghorne, Gawler South
