QCC Board Chair's Statement on January 26

Trevor is a Yalangi man from Cape York who holds deep familial ties to Princess Charlotte Bay and Palmer River country in the Cape York Peninsula.
For many thousands of years, Aboriginal and Islander people walked across this beautiful land and left nothing but their footprints.
Because for us, people, culture and environment are inseparable - they are one and the same. Land and sea are mother and father - they need to be put first.
So for Aboriginal and Islander people January 26 is not a day to celebrate. It represents the beginning of colonial massacres in this country, and the downfall of the natural environment as it was then.
Our people still need healing. This country and the environment still need healing. And celebrating on this day, which marks the beginning of so much harm, only makes things worse.
Instead, we need to celebrate our land and environment, and the original cultures of Australia - from the mainland, as well as Island cultures of the Torres Strait, Tiwi Island, Christmas Island and beyond.
We can celebrate our modern Australia along with our ancient cultures, if there is respect given to all who have given and sacrificed so much to our country. Especially our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stewardship of our environment for thousands of years. We need to celebrate great Australians like David Unaipon, Neville Bonner, Eric Deeral, and the inspiring and influential Aboriginal and Islander people who walk among us today.
There’s a lot to celebrate in Australia, but we need to do it in the right way, at the right time. Only when we do that will we truly begin the real healing of people, country and the natural environment.
Trevor Meldrum
Yalangi man from Cape York
CEO of Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated
Biosecurity Mates ambassador
Chair of QCC Board