‘It is one thing to acknowledge the fact of invasion; it is quite another to celebrate it’, Mr Mansell writes in an opinion piece published online
‘Australia has not once apologised, and meant it, for the invasion of Aboriginal lands. There has been no acknowledgement of the massacres that remain hidden under a ‘pioneers’ version of Australian history.’
Mr Mansell is a finalist in the Senior Australian of the Year award, Fairfax reports, for "social, political and legal reform to improve the lives of Tasmanian Indigenous People"
In an opinion piece published in the Tasmanian Times Mr Mansell calls for the creation of an Aboriginal Assembly, adding that any person who accepts an Australia Day award ‘without condemnation of the essence of Australia Day celebrations, lacks a social conscience.’
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