Imagine in the near future, a foreign power which deemed itself racially and culturally superior to ours, invaded Australia.
They moved across the land as an irresistible force, killing millions of us with their weapons, poisons and disease. We Australians who survived were rounded up and taken off our land. Our language, culture, and religions were outlawed and our beloved footy and all team sports were forbidden.
We were enslaved to do menial work and paid with flour, sugar, tea, tobacco and grog. The occupying force saw the entire continent as their land and devised new laws. They wrote a constitution, leaving out any mention of we Australians who had lived here over 200 years. Our kids were stolen and taken to re-education camps and we lived as fringe dwellers, wretched and malnourished on the margins of this strange new world.
The trauma of dispossession echoed down the generations, particularly affecting our health, education, housing and rate of incarceration.
But generations passed and over time, many of the occupying force became contrite and better informed. We asked to be recognised in their constitution. We also asked if we could form an advisory body permanently enshrined in their constitution, to consult with government and achieve better outcomes on matters directly affecting the wellbeing of we Australians.
It seems little enough to ask… just imagine.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
