Reconciliation: everybody’s business

NATIONAL Reconciliation Week begins on 27th May. Each year NRW runs from this anniversary of the day in 1967 that Australians headed to the polls to decide whether two clauses in our Constitution should be removed.

These clauses specifically discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, depriving them of certain basic citizenship rights, and excluding them from being counted in the census. And NRW goes to the 3rd June, the anniversary of the famous ‘Mabo’ case in the High Court, which overturned the myth of “terra nullius” and declared Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be the Traditional Owners of the land.

Do you think we are closer to reconciliation?

There are some practical steps you can take to contribute to reconciliation.

Do you know the meaning of the Indigenous place names where you live? Take the time to find out and share the story behind your community’s place names.

Do your children’s schools use the resources of Reconcilia­tion Australia’s Narragunnawali program? This supports all schools and early learning services in Australia to foster a higher level of knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions.

{Narragunnawali (pronounced narra-gunna-wally) is a word from the language of the Ngun­nawal people, Traditional Owners of the land on which Reconcilia­tion Australia’s Canberra office is located, meaning alive, wellbeing, coming together and peace.}

Have you read the Uluru Statement from the Heart? Will you ask your Member of the 46th Parliament of Australia to advance the two propositions of this Statement? We should refresh our memories of this momentous gathering.

In May 2017, a constitutional convention bringing together over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders met at the foot of Uluru in Central Austra­lia on the lands of the Anangu people.

The majority resolved, in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to call for the establish­ment of a ‘First Nations Voice’ in the Australian Constitution and a ‘Makarrata Commis­sion’ to supervise a process of ‘agreement-making’ and ‘truth-telling’ between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We owe it to our First Nations brothers and sisters to take the time to read and respond to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. (Find it on referendumcouncil. org.au and look at the Parliamen­tary Library’s quick guide to the Uluru Statement.)

Make reconciliation your business!

Please send comments on the article, or requests for further information about the Commis­sion, to Social.Justice@cg.org.au.