Should Acknowledgements of Country recognise migrants too? This businessman says yes

G Lockwood said:

I am a migrant, born in Europe. I have been here for over 60 years, and I believe we need to acknowledge that, if 'Migrants' did not 'invade' Australia, the aborigines or First Nation People would not need to have to adapt to our ways of living. I appreciate Australia, and what it has given me and my family. We all know what migrants have contributed to our 'Lucky Country'. It is what it is today because of migrants. However, if Australia had not been invaded, the Aborigines would still be living their own lives and traditions, without constantly being treated (firstly as not being human - no voting rights etc.). They deserve to be acknowledged for what we, the white people, took from them. Their country. Their way of life. We introduced alcohol to them... we brought flora and fauna which ruined the eco system. Let us not celebrate and acknowledge that. Let us be honest. I love Australia, but I have never loved what was done to it First Nation People. Change Australia Day to another date... not to the day First Nation People had it all taken from them.

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Joydie said:

Firstly, the term 'First Nation' does not apply to the Australian Aborigine. In order to be a nation, there are criteria to fulfil: a common language, common customs, a leader and a seat of government to name a few. Our indigenous fulfil none of the criteria.

Secondly, how much more acknowledgment of the alleged colonial harm do you want to see? There was the much celebrated apology on Sydney Harbour Bridge, and since then, an inordinate number of celebration days devoted to the indigenous. And let us not forget Naidoc. An entire week of taxpayer funded virtue signalling on the part of the those who have a black armband view of our history. The $35b annual amount allocated to over 3,000 Aboriginal groups should be making a huge difference to their lives. Unfortunately, because there's no oversight of how the money's being spent, it falls into the hands of the 'Big Men' in each mob who distribute it to their family and chosen friends, so they can spend it on things like a brand new Land Cruiser for their son's 13th birthday. True story. Add to this the mining royalties, running into tens of millions, and I'd say that financially, the mobs have more than enough money to fund a lifestyle that improves their health and living conditions.

Now I know that you've made the decision that I'm racist. Full disclosure: I am the skin sister in law of Bess Price and skin sister of her husband, Dave. This means I'm Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's skin aunty. I have a deep knowledge of the customs and culture of Aborigines. My knowledge didn't come from the mainstream media, and it certainly didn't come from the fraudulent Bruce Pasco's laughable reimagining of Aboriginal lifestyles before white settlement. My knowledge came from the source and I can assure you that the genuine Aborigines, as opposed to the blacktivists in our cities, despise the WTC. They see it as an insult to their race and their genuine culture. Time to get rid of it!

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Joydie said:

When will the virtue signallers wake up to the fact that we're ALL BLOODY AUSTRALIANS?! Why does any particular group need to be singled out for special recognition?

As to special recognition of immigrants, the entire population of Australia is made up of immigrants. In my own case, my paternal ancestors arrived in Australia from Ireland in the late 1800s and my maternal grandparents arrived in 1905 from Yorkshire. My paternal forebears bought land and established farms, contributing to the country, and my maternal grandfather opened an engineering business in Coffs Harbour, employing over 20 men. I'll guarantee that every person reading this has a similar story.

So should we only honour those migrants who arrived since WWII, or should we include the many hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived in the country with little primary industry and no manufacturing industry? Those migrants, all now long dead, were the real heroes. They'd made the country attractive to overseas migrants who arrived in an already established and thriving nation. The platform was there to enable them to succeed. So no! 'I am, you are, we are Australian.' All of us!

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Leenie said:

Thank you for saying it as it is , time for some home truths .

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G Lockwood said:

I am a migrant, born in Europe. I have been here for over 60 years, and I believe we need to acknowledge that, if 'Migrants' did not 'invade' Australia, the aborigines or First Nation People would not need to have to adapt to our ways of living. I appreciate Australia, and what it has given me and my family. We all know what migrants have contributed to our 'Lucky Country'. It is what it is today because of migrants. However, if Australia had not been invaded, the Aborigines would still be living their own lives and traditions, without constantly being treated (firstly as not being human - no voting rights etc.). They deserve to be acknowledged for what we, the white people, took from them. Their country. Their way of life. We introduced alcohol to them... we brought flora and fauna which ruined the eco system. Let us not celebrate and acknowledge that. Let us be honest. I love Australia, but I have never loved what was done to it First Nation People. Change Australia Day to another date... not to the day First Nation People had it all taken from them.

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drambuie69 said:

I am a 'baby boomer', and as far as I can remember this was the only 'title' used to cover a particular group of persons. I grew up at a great time in this Country, we manufactured and exported a great deal of things to many parts of the world. Jobs were available to anyone who wanted to work and that included those persons who arrived from many parts of the world after the devastation caused by the War. The music was great along with the relaxing style of living outdoors and enjoying the beaches and country areas. Now, all I see is this Country turning to 'crap' and these are some of the reasons ie: inept Governments filled with people who don't have any qualifications to run anything, busy lining their pockets for little effort and setting themselves up for some senior position in a large company, or overseas posting when they retire. During their time in office they managed to sell off our businesses, dismantle them to such a level that they have to close, move off shore or import everything from overseas to keep their own pockets full. I did a Cadetship with AWA, North Ryde, that company was the biggest producer of electronics in the southern hemisphere and we manufactured and exported many unique items for the overseas market. Shortly after leaving, I returned to a re-union at the factory and most of the original factory had be converted to assembling fridges, washing machines and freezers, which were being imported from overseas. I found out that Whitlem had cancelled a lot of Gov. contracts with AWA and sent the contracts overseas, one guess where they went. As for migrants who came post war, they were the 'salt of the earth.' They brought with them a host of new flavours and styles of cooking and I thank them greatly for that. They were friendly, loved the life-style and the country and all it offered them. They worked hard and had the opportunity to flourish, without loosing their identity. Sure they created their distinctive areas to live however, they assimilated into our values and I am glad that they did this without protesting in the streets, throwing rocks, burning cars and vandalism. But, what is going on now... division, anger, hatred, racism, burning our flag, legislation that promotes division, Politicians pushing their own agender, mostly for minority groups, some of which brought their racial hatred of certain religions, a hatred of certain peoples, and lack of a common values that this Country has developed with. I know, there were injustices, mistakes made in those years of colonisation however, when Rudd made that apology on behalf of all Australians to the Indigenious populations, I agreed that was partly right however, I do not believe that all the
responsible persons for those mis-deeds spoke up ie: in those early years we were governed and under the control of England. They appointed our Governors, draughted our laws and appointed our Officials to run this Country. The second ruling body at that time was the Church who had a large say in how the local population was to be 'handled and administered.' So when Rudd gave his speech I don't remember seeing anyone representing the English Government, or from the Churches joining in to offer their apologies for what they had done.
I say let us not forget what has happened however, it would do us more good to move forward and not keep looking back. It is like an injury, if you keep picking at it, it will never heal.

As for now I will make the following comments based on my actual experiences having had my own business, serving in the Military and 39yrs as a Police Officer, 22yrs as a Detective working in various areas and Task Forces. I had interacted with people at many levels, Politicians, professional people, educators, white and blue collar workers and down to the lower levels that can only be described as 'rock spiders, deviates, oxygen thieves, crooks of all types and those awaiting burial'. We have appeared to have adopted this 'political correctness mantra' to the point where it has come back to bite us. Many countries overseas are dropping this as they are also going though this internal unrest, an increase of violent crime, poor Judicial outcomes and the break-down of morals and what we call here 'mateship.' Add to this some Politicians here think and worry, to the point of extreme, what other Countries will think of us if we don't appear a certain way. They are making decisions, mostly poor ones, that are not for the benefit for this Country and persons but on what other Countries or minority groups will say about us. Probably the biggest one is immigration. To put it bluntly, we are allowing persons into this Country who are criminals and are here for one reason only, to partake in criminal activities to make money for themselves no matter who they hurt. Weak laws allow this and any legislation the Gov. enacts is so full of loop-holes it is worthless. If a person arrives here illegally or uses a false/misleading document to gain entry should be held in custody and returned to his point of origin immediately. I am tired of seeing persons who have come here, obtained their citizenship and then belittled this Country or embark down the crime pathway should have their citizenship taken away and sent back to their country of origin. No appeals, no free legal aid (paid for by us), and any assets as a result of criminal activity should be confiscated. We hardly ever hear of this happening other than the 'cash or items' found here being held, what about the money that has been sent overseas.(Enabled by the Banks not being held to account).
Well I have had my say, sorry about the length however, I love this Country and the good people in it, I just want a Gov. that has the guts to keep this Country great and moving forward. I did my best to remove some of these criminals out however, only to be let down by the Judiciary with weak sentencing. I wish I was still there.
Have a great day everyone, smile and have a laugh, it helps.

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drambuie69 said:

I am a 'baby boomer', and as far as I can remember this was the only 'title' used to cover a particular group of persons. I grew up at a great time in this Country, we manufactured and exported a great deal of things to many parts of the world. Jobs were available to anyone who wanted to work and that included those persons who arrived from many parts of the world after the devastation caused by the War. The music was great along with the relaxing style of living outdoors and enjoying the beaches and country areas. Now, all I see is this Country turning to 'crap' and these are some of the reasons ie: inept Governments filled with people who don't have any qualifications to run anything, busy lining their pockets for little effort and setting themselves up for some senior position in a large company, or overseas posting when they retire. During their time in office they managed to sell off our businesses, dismantle them to such a level that they have to close, move off shore or import everything from overseas to keep their own pockets full. I did a Cadetship with AWA, North Ryde, that company was the biggest producer of electronics in the southern hemisphere and we manufactured and exported many unique items for the overseas market. Shortly after leaving, I returned to a re-union at the factory and most of the original factory had be converted to assembling fridges, washing machines and freezers, which were being imported from overseas. I found out that Whitlem had cancelled a lot of Gov. contracts with AWA and sent the contracts overseas, one guess where they went. As for migrants who came post war, they were the 'salt of the earth.' They brought with them a host of new flavours and styles of cooking and I thank them greatly for that. They were friendly, loved the life-style and the country and all it offered them. They worked hard and had the opportunity to flourish, without loosing their identity. Sure they created their distinctive areas to live however, they assimilated into our values and I am glad that they did this without protesting in the streets, throwing rocks, burning cars and vandalism. But, what is going on now... division, anger, hatred, racism, burning our flag, legislation that promotes division, Politicians pushing their own agender, mostly for minority groups, some of which brought their racial hatred of certain religions, a hatred of certain peoples, and lack of a common values that this Country has developed with. I know, there were injustices, mistakes made in those years of colonisation however, when Rudd made that apology on behalf of all Australians to the Indigenious populations, I agreed that was partly right however, I do not believe that all the
responsible persons for those mis-deeds spoke up ie: in those early years we were governed and under the control of England. They appointed our Governors, draughted our laws and appointed our Officials to run this Country. The second ruling body at that time was the Church who had a large say in how the local population was to be 'handled and administered.' So when Rudd gave his speech I don't remember seeing anyone representing the English Government, or from the Churches joining in to offer their apologies for what they had done.
I say let us not forget what has happened however, it would do us more good to move forward and not keep looking back. It is like an injury, if you keep picking at it, it will never heal.

As for now I will make the following comments based on my actual experiences having had my own business, serving in the Military and 39yrs as a Police Officer, 22yrs as a Detective working in various areas and Task Forces. I had interacted with people at many levels, Politicians, professional people, educators, white and blue collar workers and down to the lower levels that can only be described as 'rock spiders, deviates, oxygen thieves, crooks of all types and those awaiting burial'. We have appeared to have adopted this 'political correctness mantra' to the point where it has come back to bite us. Many countries overseas are dropping this as they are also going though this internal unrest, an increase of violent crime, poor Judicial outcomes and the break-down of morals and what we call here 'mateship.' Add to this some Politicians here think and worry, to the point of extreme, what other Countries will think of us if we don't appear a certain way. They are making decisions, mostly poor ones, that are not for the benefit for this Country and persons but on what other Countries or minority groups will say about us. Probably the biggest one is immigration. To put it bluntly, we are allowing persons into this Country who are criminals and are here for one reason only, to partake in criminal activities to make money for themselves no matter who they hurt. Weak laws allow this and any legislation the Gov. enacts is so full of loop-holes it is worthless. If a person arrives here illegally or uses a false/misleading document to gain entry should be held in custody and returned to his point of origin immediately. I am tired of seeing persons who have come here, obtained their citizenship and then belittled this Country or embark down the crime pathway should have their citizenship taken away and sent back to their country of origin. No appeals, no free legal aid (paid for by us), and any assets as a result of criminal activity should be confiscated. We hardly ever hear of this happening other than the 'cash or items' found here being held, what about the money that has been sent overseas.(Enabled by the Banks not being held to account).
Well I have had my say, sorry about the length however, I love this Country and the good people in it, I just want a Gov. that has the guts to keep this Country great and moving forward. I did my best to remove some of these criminals out however, only to be let down by the Judiciary with weak sentencing. I wish I was still there.
Have a great day everyone, smile and have a laugh, it helps.

Click to expand...

Joydie said:

Firstly, the term 'First Nation' does not apply to the Australian Aborigine. In order to be a nation, there are criteria to fulfil: a common language, common customs, a leader and a seat of government to name a few. Our indigenous fulfil none of the criteria.

Secondly, how much more acknowledgment of the alleged colonial harm do you want to see? There was the much celebrated apology on Sydney Harbour Bridge, and since then, an inordinate number of celebration days devoted to the indigenous. And let us not forget Naidoc. An entire week of taxpayer funded virtue signalling on the part of the those who have a black armband view of our history. The $35b annual amount allocated to over 3,000 Aboriginal groups should be making a huge difference to their lives. Unfortunately, because there's no oversight of how the money's being spent, it falls into the hands of the 'Big Men' in each mob who distribute it to their family and chosen friends, so they can spend it on things like a brand new Land Cruiser for their son's 13th birthday. True story. Add to this the mining royalties, running into tens of millions, and I'd say that financially, the mobs have more than enough money to fund a lifestyle that improves their health and living conditions.

Now I know that you've made the decision that I'm racist. Full disclosure: I am the skin sister in law of Bess Price and skin sister of her husband, Dave. This means I'm Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's skin aunty. I have a deep knowledge of the customs and culture of Aborigines. My knowledge didn't come from the mainstream media, and it certainly didn't come from the fraudulent Bruce Pasco's laughable reimagining of Aboriginal lifestyles before white settlement. My knowledge came from the source and I can assure you that the genuine Aborigines, as opposed to the blacktivists in our cities, despise the WTC. They see it as an insult to their race and their genuine culture. Time to get rid of it!

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Knell said:

Hi Joydie - you do like a good ‘dog whistle’ don’t you? So I understand you’re making a political argument rather than a linguistic or anthropological one, so let’s be clear on what terms and facts you are actually discussing.
The term First Nations doesn’t mean a single, centralised state. It’s plural because it recognises the hundreds of distinct sovereign societies that existed before colonisation, each with its own laws, languages, and governance systems. The criteria you list:- “common language, single government, capital”, describe a European model of nationhood, not the Indigenous concept. By that logic, the ancient Greeks or Norse peoples wouldn’t qualify as nations either.

That $35 billion gets thrown around as if it’s a slush fund, but it actually covers hospitals, schools, housing, policing, and other services - but I’m sure you know that. The suggestion that it’s all ending up in the hands of a few ‘Big Men’ buying Land Cruisers is an unverified anecdote - a classic dog-whistle. Can we make something out of - “Jacinta Price has pushed for funding like the $12 million Tennant Creek school redevelopment, where her mother, Bess Price, is a paid executive”… part of the same funding pool?

So when you use family ties or assimilation stories to claim insider authority, it’s important to acknowledge the setting those stories were built in. Missionary schools and protection policies were not neutral — they were instruments of control. Some families survived and even found opportunity within them, but those same structures caused deep loss for countless others. To use that survival as proof that colonisation was somehow beneficial is to misunderstand both the cost and the context.

What is troubling to me, is that this narrative often creates a no-win situation for Indigenous people today. When communities struggle, they’re accused of wasting money or failing to integrate. When they thrive - through art, education, enterprise, or even cultural practices like the Welcome to Country - they’re accused of profiteering or virtue signalling. It’s as if Indigenous effort is only acceptable when it’s invisible?

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wildroseforever said:

You are making a political statement too!
Of the $33.4 billion total that is thrown around, 18 per cent ($6 billion) was for Indigenous-specific expenditure. This refers to services and programs exclusively designed for and targeted at Indigenous people, such as Abstudy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal aid. As for schools, hospitals, housing etc - that comes out of general revenue.
The concept of nationhood, is indeed a European concept, because you cannot have a "nation" that consists of a few family groupings that hunt and gather and live a peripatetic lifestyle. (I do not like to misuse "nomadic" which implies herding of domesticated animals)
So lets not talk about "First Nation" lets refer to "First People" (tho even that is under debate)


And by the way, ALL schools are instruments of control

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