Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill ignores our petition

Dear Supporters,

On the 18th August we received a reply from the Mayor who wrote on behalf of all the Councillors, in response to our letter delivering this petition. 

It’s fair to say that we were not satisfied with the response and have written in reply (full reply to follow).
The Mayor’s attitude is such that she wants to present an inflexible front, effectively shying away from the depth of the issue, while making media statements about ‘political correctness gone mad’.

Her key argument against moving the statue is that it is part of a 'pioneers walk'. She states (and quotes) aspects of the interpretive signage that defends her position and which includes the South Sea Islander Community almost as a second thought. 
And we can’t find any additional information about this ‘Pioneer’s Walk’. Who’s idea was this? Who chooses those who are featured? Who is funding it?

Mayor Hill extrapolated about how additional material from the South Sea Islander National Secretariat may be incorporated into the existing signage but there was no mention of Traditional Owners, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, historical and community others, nor the idea of consulting with any of these key stakeholders before making this decision.

We want to see more effort given to this matter! 

One of the Priority Area deliverables from the TCC Reconciliation Action Plan aspires to be: Influencing change:

1.2 Explore opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural naming of buildings, infrastructure or signage within Townsville city

We aren’t seeing any evidence of this which has led to our campaign.

We think it’s time that Townsville City Council acted on these words:

“The Townsville City Council would like to acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba peoples as Traditional Owners of the land on which our Council operates. We pay respect to Elders past, present and future and value the traditions, cultures and aspirations of the First Australians of this land. We acknowledge and hold in great significance the valuable contribution that Traditional Owners have made and continue to make within the Townsville Community. “

“We aspire to encourage active participation from all community members including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to ensure inclusive engagement and contribution to a community that is safe, resilient and prosperous for all. We endeavour to build a solid foundation of mutual respect, increased communication, recognition and ethical conduct which develops and strengthens our relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and community and helps the wider community work towards a deeper understanding of First Australian Peoples’ histories and cultures. Together we can work towards building a strong and prosperous society.”

In response to Mayor Hill’s letter and media grabs around the subject James Barrett, wrote this well researched and explicitly clear response:

Why is there a Statue of the Slaver Robert Towns (1794–1873) in Townsville?

Towns was an importer and exporter of many things, but perhaps the most controversial cargo he handled were human beings. He's widely recognised, even by the Townsville City Council as "the man who commenced the recruitment of Islanders on a systematic scale for Queensland agriculture”. The issue is that these Islanders were often deceived into leaving their homes and working in the Queensland sun. Thousands of them died, and many others returned home without money. They were indentured labourers that had no rights and this is precisely why they were ‘recruited’. This is known as Blackbirding and it was a form of slavery. For this reason the statue of Robert Towns should be removed from its present position in the centre of Townsville (where it has stood only since 2005) and placed in a museum, where the terrible story of blackbirding can be told. James Gordon (1822-1885) was one of the earliest white settlers in the region (and the great great grandfather of James Barrett), is actually quoted as critical of the conditions Islanders were subjected to at the time. This critique is echoed 153 years later in regard to the statue of Robert Towns.

Sincerely,

The Petitioners 4.10.20