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[Update: You can read a response from The Mudgee Chamber of Commerce below]
The Clock Award Committee would like to apologise for our oversight and that we will make sure that in 2020 Welcome to Country is included.
Original letter:
I recently attended the 2018 Clock Awards, held at Parklands Mudgee. The venue was lovely, everybody was dressed beautifully and the service was spectacular.
However, as proceedings got underway, I quickly noticed that in the introduction to the evening, there was no Welcome to Country.
I had hoped it had maybe been missed, and that other speakers would remember the land on which we were all meeting and acknowledge that.
Alas, not a single speaker the entire night acknowledged the traditional Wiradjuri owners of the land. I was outraged, to say the least.
I myself am not of Aboriginal descent, but I have worked closely with Aboriginal families and Elders for many years, and through conversation and education, I am aware of the countless hardships the culture has faced.
To blatantly ignore or disregard this, is shameful. I have been told that Mudgee is a racist town, and I wanted to believe that this was not true, but this event made it all too clear that it is.
I have spoken with friends and colleagues that experience this kind of ‘casual racism’ all the time in Mudgee, and they were not at all surprised that this had happened. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been fighting for so long for the recognition they deserve, and they shouldn’t have to fight that battle alone.
Mudgee, we need to pick up our game and start showing some respect. Better late than never.
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