Governor-General on historical monuments
Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy is calling for a wider understanding of history in New Zealand as the debate continues over whether to remove colonial statues.
The Black Lives Matter movement has sparked calls to take down colonial and slave trader statues around the world. The movement reemerged after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a US police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.
In the wake of Floyd's death, demonstrators have toppled statues with controversial backgrounds while in New Zealand, a statue of Captain John Hamilton - a regiment leader at the Battle of Gate Pā during the New Zealand Wars - was removed by the Hamilton City Council.
But Dame Patsy says it's important all parts of New Zealand's past is understood.
"I'm very excited that we are finally having New Zealand history taught in our schools and part of New Zealand history is colonial history, as well as the pre-colonial history," she told The AM Show on Friday.
"I think the idea is that we're going to have a much better and wider perspective on what has shaped our nation; where we come from, [and] who we are - and so in that context - we cannot wipe away our colonial past, we need to understand it.
Full article and video: https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/we-cannot-wipe-away-our-colonial-past-governor-general-on-historical-monuments/ar-BB15GiNS?ocid=msedgdhp
