The harmful stereotypes about First Nations people contained in a children's book by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver show the necessity of truth telling, a Yoorrook commissioner has said.
'Billy and the Epic Escape' was pulled from shelves after it was revealed that neither Oliver nor his publisher had engaged an Indigenous person at any stage during its writing.
The story featured a young girl from the central desert area living in foster care, and contained errors of language.
The Deputy Chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commssion, Sue-Anne Hunter, encouraged Mr Oliver to engage with the truth telling process.
"Too often we see people who mean well cause harm or offence because they don’t know the full story of our shared history in Australia," the Wurundjeri Ngu rai Illum Wurrung woman said.
"The publication of Billy and the Epic Escape shows why truth-telling is so important – to learn and understand history from First Peoples’ perspective.
"Yoorrook has invited Jamie Oliver to engage with the truth-telling Commission and meet with First Peoples as part of a learning and healing process."
Both Oliver and the book's publisher, Penguin Random House UK, apologised for the incident.
In a statement, Penguin said a request by Oliver for engagement with Indigenous communities went unaddressed due to "editorial oversight".
