Take down the statue

THE statue of Roberts Towns must go. Question to the Townsville City Council: When will this statue be removed? It is a disgrace to our city and the people who want to move forward together and live here peacefully and respectfully. We wonder why Townsville has such a problem with disrespect and violence? Really? We are revering it and honouring it in our city square. It is at the heart of our city.

How is it respectful to our Indigenous and Islander residents or any of us, for that matter, to have this symbol of slavery, kidnapping and enforced labour standing in the centre of our city? How can we expect the energy and life of our city to be clean, loving and harmonious with this deprecated symbol at its core?

I will stand up and say it must go. I am disgusted with what

Towns did. The question of who in their right minds would consider this to be an appropriate way to spend our rates could be an investigation of its own.

My daughter has been living in Cairns the past three months and commented how different the Indigenous people are there and also how much more accepting Cairns is of its Indigenous. Townsville has a lot to acknowledge and repent of, historically, when it comes to the Traditional Owners of the land that we all love. Removing the statue would be a good start.

I am calling for this statue to be removed. Will anyone else stand with me? And will the ’leaders’ of our city listen?