We cannot change history, but we must, and can learn a great deal from the past.

Rather than tear down monuments they should be used as a point of public discourse and discussion/education to point out that those figures were viewed at a given time with great reverence and respect, that was appropriate for the era in which they were created, having then differing social mores and attitudes.

Since that time our perceptions of what is acceptable has changed, we must all move with that change, providing it is for positive reasons and we explain why this new thought has to be embraced.

As a migrant to this country I too was the butt of prejudice and bullying, which was nothing compared to what happened to our own Indigenous people.

They had everything practically taken away from them - land, culture, lives and resources - all being almost expunged from existence.

Use the current movement of BLM to sincerely address the evils of the past and utilise monuments as a point of education, removing them will make people forget what had occurred.

Crushing a walnut with a bulldozer is not a pretty sight. But that's what we are seeing when politicians, who are supposed to uphold Australia's constitution with its implied right to demonstrate, forbid public protests and threaten fines.

Why not simply re-draw the boundaries for those who take to the streets with legitimate expressions of concern during COVID-19, instead of a blanket ban?

In recent years we have seen logging trucks and rigs surround parliament, mountain cattlemen parade through city streets on horseback - all legitimate expressions of free speech.

It would not be wrong for Black Lives Matter demonstrators to move single file, or in legal groups of 10 or 20 through the streets, or to use their cars to rally.

They have shown that they take appropriate precautions with masks and hand sanitation being freely available.

The COVID-19 pandemic should not be used as an excuse to continue to ignore the uncomfortable truth that 432 indigenous people have died in custody since the Royal Commission three decades ago.

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