CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Australian Greens digital content producer, Marc Wyatt (33) has a little extra spring in his step this morning, after successful closing the gap.
For the past two years, Marc has utilised his daily walk to work from his cute little workers cottage to a local electoral office by gradually becoming more familiar with some of the elderly black men who play cards in the pocket park at the end of his street.
Today, he has reached new heights of reconciliation during an 8-10 word exchange with a local elder, Tim.
Marc: “How are you?”
Aboriginal man named Tim: “Good, mate. You”
Marc: “Yeah not too bad. How bout this cold snap?”
Aboriginal man named Tim: “Yeah. She’s pretty bloody fresh”
Marc: “[laughter] have a good one mate
Marc says his efforts to maintain a positive relationship with the local Aboriginal community is something he really wants to instil into his children, Echo (5) and Czar-Czar (4).
He believes that these kind of conversations help educate mainstream Australia on the real struggles faced by our country’s First Nations people.
“I just want them to be blind to any prejudice”
“I want them to be able to just walk up to Aboriginal people they don’t know and acknowledge them by saying something mundane about the weather or a football result”
Despite not being prompted to, Marc now refers to Tim as ‘Uncle Tim’ – and often references him at dinner parties when talking about how he thinks his suburb is a great place for kids because of the diversity.
Tim says he doesn’t know who Marc is.
MORE TO COME ON THIS BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP.
