British Colinisation was the “the luckiest thing that happened” to Australia according to former Prime Minister John Howard.
The 84-year-old made the comments earlier this week in an interview with the Australian Newspaper.
In the interview Mr. Howard says “I do hold the view that the luckiest thing that happened to this country was being colonised by the British.
“Not that they were perfect by any means, but they were infinitely more successful and beneficent colonisers than other European countries.”
The comments have stirred a storm of outrage sparking calls for the newspaper to issue out an apology and a retraction.
Mr. Howard also believes the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will fail and create “a new cockpit of conflict.”
He also took aim at the idea of state treaties and reparations for Indigenous Australians calling them “constitutionally repugnant” saying a treaty cannot be made with a sovereign state and part of a state.
Mr. Howard’s comments come at a turbulent time for the ‘No’ Campaign against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with ‘Recognise a Better Way’ campaigner and Former Labor Minister Gary Johns refusing to resign after calling for blood and DNA tests for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders receiving Centerlink payments.
Image Credit: Robert Keating Via Wikimedia Commons
