Singer songwriter and producer Shane Howard was today awarded a Member of the Order of Australia and immediately called for Australia to become a republic.
Ever since the British invaded Australia and near wiped out a 30,000 year old culture Australia still remains under British rule.
“Our national character is evolving; that’s why I think it’s really important that we move towards a republic and we stand on our own two feet in the world and identify clearly who we are,” Howard told the ABC.
“And I don’t think you can have a republic without having a treaty with your First Nation’s People, if you want to stand as an honourable nation in the world”.
Howard sees the irony in the award telling AAP, “It’s a two-edged sword for a number of reasons. Australia Day is a complicated day and as a nation we have to deal with that and it’s become a symbol of division and not unity. It’s lovely and ironic in a way that you are recognised for a song that criticises government policy.”
Shane’s band Goanna signed with Warner Music in 1982 and released the epic ‘Spirit of Place’ album featuring ‘Solid Rock’ and ‘Razors Edge’. ‘Solid Rock’ was the first mainstream hit to address the inequality of indigenous Australians and opened the dialogue for repair, a dialogue that is continually derailed whenever a LNP government controls the country.
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