Nova Peris OAM and Craig Foster AM have co-written to King Charles III calling for an apology from the British monarch for the effects of colonisation experienced by Indigenous Australians ahead of his coronation.
The co-chairs of the Australian Republic Movement, both of whom were signatories of a joint statement by First Nations, Indigenous Peoples, and advocacy groups of 12 countries with the British Monarch as head of state, said King Charles had shown no understanding of the effects of colonisation by Indigenous peoples affected by colonisation at hands of the British empire.
"You have not yet begun to fully comprehend the legacies of your Crown," Ms Peris and Mr Foster said.
Ms Peris and Mr Foster said Indigenous people in Australia, like many First Nations peoples in Commonwealth countries, deserved an apology for the treatment received by British colonialists.
"We expect a formal apology for the systemic racism, oppression and Crown-sponsored attempted genocide of the First Nations peoples of Australia, a call that we see being replicated across many Commonwealth nations," they said.
They said conversations had begun across the Commonwealth in relation to thousands of artefacts and ancestral remains, items of cultural significance which they said should be returned to their home countries immediately after his coronation.
"Many First Nations and Indigenous peoples and anti-slavery groups across the Commonwealth are calling for discussions to begin immediately following your coronation into reparations for historical wrongs committed by the Crown and the return of cultural artefacts and ancestral remains," they said.
"There remain around 32,000 First Nations artefacts in UK museums, the rightful property of this country.
"This is a necessary step in view of the massacres that we now know occurred under the protection of the Crown and for the land that was stolen from First Nations Australians without agreement or recompense."
Stating "sorrow is not adequate, (for) those who suffered at the hands of your institution," the pair also called on King Charles to recognise the impacts of Crown-supported slavery from which the royal family directly profited.
They include: the enduring impact of the stolen land of First Nations Australians, acknowledge by the High Court of Australia; racism that underpinned the earliest treatment of Indigenous Australians that still persists today; the enslavement of First Nations Australians; the stolen generations; over 400 recorded massacres and the dehumanisation for which Australia is only now treading the path of reconciliation and healing.
"We see agreement-making between First Nations and all Australians 9 as the next step on our journey to the inheritance of the world's oldest living culture and the Crown must acknowledge its own debts in the same way," they said.
Noting King Charles' uncertainty as to whether he would be welcomed in Australia, Ms Peris and Mr Foster invited the King to participate in joining in Australia's self-governance and full Constitutional independence.
"We invite you on our journey to a Nation that lives its values of equality, merit, inclusion and multiculturalism in every way and in every institution, particularly in public office where Australians expect the highest standards of democratic accountability which only an Australian Head of State, accountable to us, can deliver," they said.
Charles III's coronation will be held on Saturday.
