John Howard, one of Australia’s longest-serving Prime Ministers said, “the luckiest thing that happened to this country was being colonised by the British”.
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| 84-year old Former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, led Australia from 1996 to 2007. Photo: Getty Images |
Australia is expected to hold a referendum this year on whether to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a right that is enshrined constitutionally to be consulted by government on laws that impact them.
Conservative John Howard, however, said, the people of Australia are yet to be told how the move will lead to better health, education as well as social results for the indigenes.
Howard led Australia from 1996 to 2007 as Prime Minister (PM).
In an interview with Australian newspaper published on Wednesday, Howard said: “I think it will go down significantly — that’s my sense.”
He further said, Australia should be “just talking about how to lift up Aboriginal people, and put them in the mainstream of the community, finding out ways of doing it.
“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.”
On Politics in Australia, Howard said: “Shouldn’t we just be sitting down talking to each other?
“It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take a long time. It’s going to be less successful than we would like. But why are we doing this to ourselves?”
