Councillor says Aboriginals 'turned up in Australia unannounced' and could have 'wiped out another race' when they arrived in appalling email rant
- Mikaela Gallaway emailed councillor about using Acknowledgment of Country
- She shared emails with Brooke Collins, from The Hills Shire Council, to Facebook
- Councillor Collins said he did not want to 'single out one race' in his responses
- Acknowledgement of Country shows respects to Traditional Owners of the land
A woman has shared the 'utterly ridiculous' response from a local councillor after she asked him to consider using an Acknowledgment of Country during meetings.
Mikaela Gallaway decided to email Brooke Collins, from The Hills Shire Council in western Sydney, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the world.
'The time is now for change,' she wrote in her email seen by Hills Shire Times.
'Our indigenous population has also lived through hundreds of years of atrocities and are still fighting to overcome racism and racial profiling today.
'It is my belief that this gap needs to be bridged and that this is a wonderful way to get that bridge started.'
Mikaela Gallaway (right) decided to email Councillor Brooke Collins (left), from The Hills Shire Council in western Sydney, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the world to ask for an Acknowledgement of Country at council meetings
Ms Gallaway shared the emails on Facebook to urge community members to contact the councillor directly
An Acknowledgement of Country is the opportunity to show respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and is often given at the beginning of a meeting, speech or formal occasion.
But Cr Collins seemingly failed to understand the concept by saying he did not want to 'single out one race'.
He replied to Ms Gallaway's email: 'Thank you for your email however I won't single out one race we are all equal and what you suggest just divides us more!'
'However if you were to suggest we should also acknowledge people brought against their will from England in 1788 and European settlement for making our country what it is today, plus those who fought and died for us then yes I would agree!'
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In an additional email screenshot, Cr Collins 'thanked' Ms Gallaway for a 'history lesson' before claiming Indigenous Australians could have wiped out another race.
'You may want to find out where Indigenous people originated from and it wasn't here in Australia,' the email reads.
'They too turned up on our shores unannounced, however, yes they were the first here. However, they lived a very nomadic life unlike the life you lead now.
'How do you know they didn't wipe out another race when they arrived here 70,000 years ago?'
Cr Collins said he did not want to 'single out one race'. He replied to Ms Gallaway's email: 'Thank you for your email however I won't single out one race we are all equal and what you suggest just divides us more!'
Cr Collins then said the pair should 'agree to disagree' while thanking European settlement for modern Australian society.
'We have what we all have today thanks to European settlement. However, if they didn't arrive you and I wouldn't be here,' he concluded.
'I can't change what happened over 250 years [ago], let's all move forward!'
Ms Gallaway shared the emails on Facebook to urge community members to contact the councillor directly.
'I'm not sure Councillor Collins understands what an Acknowledgement of Country is,' she wrote.
'Last time I checked the groups he mentions were never original owners of the land.
'Also the part about acknowledging European settlement is utterly ridiculous and I have no words.'
In an additional email screenshot, Cr Collins 'thanked' Ms Gallaway for a 'history lesson' before claiming Indigenous Australians could have wiped out another race
Ms Gallaway also encouraged residents to sign a Change.org petition 'to acknowledge Traditional Owners'.
The petition reads: 'At the start of reconciliation week my family and I challenged my local community to write to our local councillors requesting they acknowledge Traditional Owners the Darug people and Acknowledge Country before their meetings and events.'
'The responses received within the community were quite disheartening.
'Currently there is no acknowledgement of Traditional Owners at meetings or major events within my community.'
There are more than 800 signatures.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cr Collins and The Hills Shire Council for comment.
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