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Sydney Morning Herald

We must teach a truer history of our attempted genocide

Professor Megan Davis' article (' Australia can't handle the truth ', July 12) makes sobering reading. A couple of days ago, we had a report from an envoy suggesting we teach the Holocaust in our schools. I have often referred to it in my time as an educator, so I'd have no problem, given a couple of other requirements. Teach the true story of the attempted genocide of our Indigenous people. Tell the story of Tasmania, teach about the massacres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and especially the NT, where the last such slaughter was in 1928 at Coniston. Genocide is not confined to 1930s and '40s Europe – it comes much closer to home. I am sad to find myself writing this, but what I have read, seen and heard, especially since the outburst of vile racism surrounding the Voice, demands that a truer history of our own nation be taught, and at present, it is not. Jock Webb, Narromine Megan Davis' summary of our sorry racist history towards Indigenous Australians shows that, unlike the achievement of a multicultural Australia – something of which we can be proud – we have failed in the Indigenous space despite many reports and commissions. Following the failure of the Voice referendum, there is a need for a legislated representative body for Indigenous people and the adoption of alternatives to incarceration of young people, among other measures. This should culminate in a treaty like the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa-New Zealand, with appropriate compensation for the terrible wrongs inflicted on our Indigenous peoples. Only then can we put our sad past behind us and go forward together. Andrew Macintosh, Cromer An excellent article by Megan Davis highlights the insidiousness of racism in Australia. This country was founded on racism, both personal and institutional. Racism is as a cancer that continues to eat away at us, while privileged white people like me can continue to deny its very existence behind trite statements and participating in some 'nice' soul-cleansing NAIDOC event on an annual basis. Significantly, racism is not a concept – it is a practical means to suppress aspirations of Indigenous people, then blame them for the impacts of that racism. Racism is interwoven in our national psyche, our institutions and policies and practices. It is only when we reckon with our past and accept the prejudices that exist that we will move forward. Unfortunately, if it has taken 225 years to get where we are today, it may take at least that many years to come to terms with our past. I, for one, hold little hope. Graham Fazio, Cootamundra I do not agree with Megan Davis that 'Australians voted no because they did not want 'race' in the constitution'. In the lead-up to the 2023 Voice referendum, there were two issues to be decided. One was to include the Indigenous people in the constitution and one to allow a voice for Indigenous people in parliament. The first was clearly popular with most people, but the second was less popular because it would introduce racism into the parliament. The Labor Party decided rather than have two separate issues with one popular and another less, they would merge them, hoping that the voting public would not recognise the trickery of their decision. The outcome, as we know, was No, which now means we still do not have the Indigenous population represented in the constitution. Ross Hall, Copacabana Let report gather dust The Segal Report aims to deter antisemitism by recommending special input into Australian schools, universities and the ABC (Letters, July 12). Jillian Segal wants the government to listen to a Jewish voice to ensure truth-telling about Jewish history and foster a safe future for Jews in Australia. The Aboriginals, too, wanted a Voice in government. They, too, want truth-telling and policy input. However, Australians said a resounding No to one cultural group getting special access to and influence over our key institutions in present day multicultural Australia. If the Jewish lobby is given what Indigenous people were denied, it will seem very unfair. Prime Minister Albanese should put the Segal Report on a shelf and let it gather dust. As for any violent, destructive crimes such as fires and graffiti, by any groups or individuals: we have the full force of the law, police, courts and jails to protect safety and property. We should not show fear or favour to any one cultural group to have a cohesive society. Elizabeth Vickers, Maroubra Jillian Segal's plan isn't even a voice to parliament, it's a voice to government without the suggestion of a referendum – an overreach, and unnecessary given the laws we have in place already. Jack Amond, Cabarita The report by Jillian Segal outlining a plan to address antisemitism is welcome. Such a welcome, however, should not obscure the reality of the murder of innocent Gaza citizens at the hands of the IDF. Close to 60,000 dead since October 23, probably more. That is the equivalent of the combined populace of Bathurst and Lithgow. All dead. The survivors tormented and traumatised, herded en masse from one unsafe location to the next, to await the next direction to move on amid the bombing. To speak of this is not to threaten community tolerance, it is to speak the truth. Jon Fogarty, North Avoca I find Jillian Segal's report alarming, with its threats to restrict and to de-fund non-compliant universities. Antisemitism has been a disgraceful stain on humanity for centuries. But to claim that the recent manifestations can be blamed on 'a diet of disinformation and misinformation' is largely missing the point. It is surely being fuelled rather by the daily images of the killing of civilians and destruction of their homes and towns by the Israeli Defence Force. If the IDF would stop this, it would be the greatest blow imaginable to the rising tide of antisemitism. Indeed, if that doesn't happen, the tide will overwhelm us. Paul Knox, Roseville Chase An often-stated argument during the Voice referendum by the No campaign was that such legislation would create a system of special laws for one group of Australians, be divisive and contrary to the egalitarian view we have of ourselves. I wonder if those who prosecuted this argument so strongly will similarly object to special laws for antisemitism. Paul Clynick, Moffat Beach (Qld) As prime minister, Scott Morrison humiliated China by publicly supporting an external examination of Chinese markets and laboratories to determine the origin of COVID-19 and then compounded this with name-calling (' Albanese walks diplomatic tightrope with Xi, Trump ', July 12). The result was that China put tariffs as high as 264 per cent on our exports and refused to even talk to anyone from the Morrison government. Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong succeeded in having those tariffs removed and returning the relationship to normality. It is therefore laughable that anyone once part of the Coalition such as 'hawkish foreign policy expert Justin Bassi' should attempt to give the prime minister advice on how to deal with China. Barry Harrod, Fig Tree Pocket (Qld) Pulling the Woollahra over our eyes If the government is revisiting the idea of completing a station on the eastern suburbs railway line (' Ghost station plan to deliver housing boost ', July 12), then it should look at that other abandoned item: completing the railway to Bondi Beach. The extension could be single track so that, in peak periods, half the trains could turn back at the existing turn-back facility at Bondi Junction. With a station near Bondi Post Office, say, the traffic jams on Bondi Road could be reduced, and high-density housing could be increased in this popular suburb. John Woodward, Ashfield It's hard to know which is the more unlikely. A new Woollahra railway station surrounded by high-rise apartments, or them being affordable for young people and families. Given previous opposition to this plan by the good burghers of Woollahra, tell them they're dreaming. Lynne Poleson, Kingsford Premier Chris Minns has Buckley's chance of building 25,000 homes in the backyard of eastern suburbs lawyers. Tim Schroder, Gordon Of course, it's a bad idea There are many reasons why such a development opposite Canterbury racecourse should not go ahead (' Race club takes property giant to court over $70m land deal ', July 12). The main reason has to do with the location and the traffic chaos it would create. At the other end of King Street you have a several-hundred apartment complex nearing completion, and if this new development were allowed, then the amount of traffic it would produce along an already busy single-lane road would be a nightmare. Government officials will argue that the location is a short walk from Canterbury railway station, but not everyone in the development would use public transport to go to work, and at the weekend they would use their cars. The inner west has precious little green space as it is, and removing more of it would be a poor outcome. Peter Miniutti, Ashbury What'Sopwith it? Tous! The AUKUS fiasco must end (″ ⁣UK envoy dismisses fears over US AUKUS review ″⁣, July 12). It is ludicrous that we have paid the Americans the better part of a billion dollars already, as a down payment for atomic boats that, were they ever to be built, would be as obsolete as Sopwith Camels flying into an Iron Dome by the time the first one hits the water. There are high-speed, cheap, submersible suicide drones being designed and built now, not in 2040. Our promised leviathans will be easy meat. The notion of putting human crews inside such death traps is criminal. AUKUS is simply the crowning fiasco atop a defence procurement disaster that has run unchecked in this country for decades. We spend a fraction of the money already sent to Washington on our real enemies – fire ants, feral cats, pigs, invasive plant species ... the list is long. We are already under attack, yet we spend fortunes on boy toys. Pat Sheil, Camperdown So, can the 'Land of the Southern Cross' learn from our 'North Star', Finland (' Landmines and fences: Living next door to Putin ', July 12)? Although cheek-by-jowl with its antagonistic neighbour, Russia, this northern outpost of NATO is developing its Arctic version of what we need to develop: the Antipodean echidna defence strategy. With not a submarine to its name, diminutive Finland has and continues to be a prickly customer. It's high-time to scuttle the outrageously spurious AUKUS (read the fine print) deal and instead focus on an effective Home Guard with synergistic alliances and trading partnerships 'above' the 'Land Down Under'. As an aside, it comes to mind that the Great Auk was a seabird driven to extinction by us humans. So, in the finish, whatever way you read it, the US in AUKUS does not sit well. Steve Dillon, Thirroul No felicity with dictionary The Australian National Dictionary Centre is to be 'disestablished', or to put it clearly, thrown on the scrap heap (' National Dictionary team hit by job cuts ', July 12). The Australian National University, along with our other august academic institutions, is doing some remodelling. Apparently the once academically rigorous ANU is 'on a journey' 'into the future', 'while ensuring that core activities are sustainably embedded'. And the source of these mindless, meaningless, hackneyed, jargon-laden comments on the destruction? A struggling year 10 student using AI? The Newspeak of the dystopian novel 1984? Not at all. Turns out the honours are shared between an official ANU spokesperson and the vice chancellor, neither of whom, it appears, have used the resources of the centre for some time. But when your job is to try and obfuscate, why would you? Elisabeth Goodsall, Wahroonga As a proud graduand, along with my wife, son and daughter, of the ANU, I am most angry about the cuts to the Australian National Dictionary. What do we value when such important assets are trashed? Doesn't language matter any more? Paul Fergus, Croydon Doesn't miss a beat Sarah Macdonald (' Gen Z, you should be dancing. Yeah? ' , July 12) is spot-on regarding Gen Z's relentless filming inhibiting care-less dancing. My kids are definitely not liberated dancers in the way we 'Boomers' were, and still are. We started with rock 'n' roll, moved to the twist, then to the stomp at the surf club dances on the northern beaches. Now, at many RSLs and clubs, we oldies are dancing to the beat of our own drum to some fabulous retro bands. Our kids think it's hilarious; we think it's liberating – as long as nobody films us. Suzan Fayle, Collaroy After reading the dance article by Sarah Macdonald, I reflected on my great nights dancing in the 1960s. I danced with my sister at the Sound Lounge in William Street, Kings Cross, where no alcohol was served. We missed the last train home at 2am, so waited in the ladies room with old homeless women. Our mother met us at the station at 6 am. FURIOUS. Judy Nicholas, Kambah (ACT) Picking a winner