In 1888, when then-New South Wales Premier Sir Henry Parkes was asked whether a centenary celebration was being planned for Indigenous Australians alongside the settlers' celebration he responded: "and remind them we have robbed them?"

For most Australians there has never been a time they have seen war on our shores, but some Indigenous Australians have continued to live through the post-war trauma caused by the invasion of the Australian continent by the British.

From 1788 until 1901, the people of this nation were exterminated to make way for the biggest legal fiction ever told: "Terra Nullius".

To make the great lie work they had to dehumanise our people, treating them like animals and vermin, poisoning, shooting, trapping and stoving in the skulls of children and infants, to save bullets.

There is one thing worse than using poison to kill the people you despise, it's simply sharing diseases with our people by offering smallpox-infected food, water and blankets to prisoners and camps full of indigenous peoples who have been uprooted, displaced and family murdered.

The biggest nation-building event for the British invaders were the disgraceful policies put in place to destroy our law, lore, culture and steal our future, our children.

The cross-generational trauma experienced by indigenous people is still raw, and the losses caused by those policies persists today.

Loss of family, loss of children, loss of sacred sites and building churches on those sites, loss of land and food sources, loss of culture as our people were incarcerated and missions took them away for their country.

Our war will finish when we are afforded our due as a sovereign people on our land in our own right. We know war, it is an intimate part of our living history.

I do not want to bring other countries wars onto our sacred land; while sending assistance is acceptable, sending sacrificial lambs is not, which is why I don't support our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelling to Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.

It is impacting the cost of our fuel, living, house prices, and the pandemic recovery.

But for Australia to become more involved with the conflict would be counterproductive to everyone.

Most of us haven't been to war, there are no global conflict within our living memories, and very few events have impacted on us collectively, except the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19 pandemic.

We have however been subject to weather events that have caused destruction and mayhem in the past couple of years, consequences of climate change for which we need to work together to rebuild.

We do enjoy a reasonable lifestyle; once the floods recede, the fires burn out and the community recovery begins we know we will not be shot, murdered or imprisoned because most of us do not know war or real disadvantage causing death such as war-torn countries around the world do.

So we are indeed the lucky country.

Ukraine meanwhile has been subject to months without utilities we take for granted, such as power, water and sanitation services.

The war does affect us, but our Prime Minister's job is to guide our Country not pick a fight with other countries.

We are the Lucky Country. Why would we want that to change?

As a nation Australia has offered and provided support to Ukraine, and will continue to do so, but the liberation of their country is for the Ukrainian people to accomplish.

I have to say as this is my opinion piece that my adamant opinion on our Prime Minister visiting the Ukraine is a simple "no way, no how, not now".

To do so in my view is a provocation and in simple terms an aggressive act of baiting the bear.

I respect the fact Mr Albanese has recognised the invitation, but said "security issues" needed to be considered.

Let's for argument's sake, consider the security issues:

• The President of Ukraine has provided Putin with the date of the intended visit;
• The President of Ukraine has also provided the time for the visit;
• The President of Ukraine has also provided Putin with the info on means of transport;
• The President of Ukraine provided route and entry point of the visit;
• The President of Ukraine list of invitees; and
• The opportunity to do maximum damage to allies of Ukraine.

Why would you provide this sort of invitation if not to provoke a response, and play chicken with a man who is more likely to fight rather than freeze.

Our Prime Minister on Friday said: "I will take appropriate advice and obviously there are security issues as well in terms of such a visit".

Here is some advice, although unsolicited.

As the new head of a new government, I for one would advise you to look after the most important issues for our nation right now, without setting yourself up as bait in foreign country.

As the leader of the government, you have an obligation to Australia first, in a good way.

With our own issues with sorting the dragon (China), and supporting our own neighbours in the pacific region, we don't need to be a part of provoking a response, and using world leaders as bait.

I urge the Australian Government to keep the Ukraine/Russian conflict off Australian shores, because that position is already filled with a war that has been raging since 1788.

Just Saying!

• Carol Martin is a Yamatji woman and was State Labor Member for the Kimberley from 2001 to 2013. She was the first Indigenous woman elected to any parliament in Australia.