Reconciliation
What do we mean by reconciliation?
ANTaR Victoria sees reconciliation as being both a vision and a process. Our vision is to generate a moral and legal recognition of and respect for the distinctive status of Indigenous Australians as First Peoples. This recognition is fundamental to creating a new relationship between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people, who have colonised Australia since 1788. This relationship is at the heart of the reconciliation process.
Reconciliation Week 2009 - Turning words into action
Reconciliation week starts off on the 27 of May, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum, and ends with 'Mabo Day' on the 3rd of June. Local events will be running around Victoria organised by community groups, Councils, Aboriginal controlled organisations, and workplaces. For more information on events in reconciliation week, see Reconciliation Victoria's calendar of events. Or add your event to the calendar
For the first time this year Reconciliation Victoria is also offering small grants of up to $500 to Local Reconciliation Groups for Rec Week Events. For more information about the grants program.
The public process of reconciliation began with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) and has continued through the work of ANTaR Victoria, Reconciliation Victoria and many other organisations and individuals, who have started the process of educating themselves and others about the issues, raising awareness and finding ways to acknowledge the unique status of Indigenous people.
Reconciliation, however, is a problematic term. Many people are fed up with the rhetoric of “reconciliation” as a word that promises a lot but means little in practical terms and has not delivered justice to Indigenous people or significantly advanced the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Frustration over the arguable failure of the reconciliation movement to deliver what is often unhelpfully dubbed “practical reconciliation,” – in terms of health, housing and education outcomes for Indigenous people – demonstrates the need to bring about a shift in our thinking. These issues are, of course, extremely important; however solving these crises would still not necessarily guarantee a transformed relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. In fact, these should be seen as entitlements that every Australian has the right to enjoy.
Reconciliation, therefore, exists alongside and above these concerns, at the level of the nation and its spirit. Practical equality and the elimination of disadvantage can then flow from this transformation of our national identity. Thus, our experience has led us to believe that reconciliation is whitefella business.
What this means is that the time has come for non-Indigenous people to take ownership of reconciliation as a non-Indigenous issue. Too often, reconciliation is seen as being an “Aboriginal problem”. This view is rooted in past government policies, but astonishingly, still forms the basis of Indigenous affairs policies and public opinion today. This is evident in current policy frameworks including that of ‘mutual obligation’ which renders equality as a privilege that Indigenous Australians must earn, rather than a right they inherently deserve.
The truth is, Australia is built on the wealth of land that was stolen and non-Indigenous people have benefited from that. Therefore, it is up to non-Indigenous people to make a commitment to acknowledging what has happened in the past and addressing present power imbalances and inequalities. It is up to non-Indigenous people to restore integrity and honour to the process of reconciliation.
We must be prepared to be confronted by our personal and community’s past, as well as finding ways to redress the economic imbalance. We believe that it is no longer useful to sit back and continue to ask Indigenous people what “they” want “us” to do to achieve reconciliation. Indigenous people have told us again and again what they want and often suggest that the best thing non-Indigenous people can do is to educate themselves and get active.
This new thinking on reconciliation as whitefella business also requires us to move beyond feelings of blame and shame and to take action from a place that energises and inspires others to get on board.
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Find out what you can do.
Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation
The formal process of reconciliation began in 1999. Following from a recommendation of the Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) was established as a statutory authority under the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991. The Council’s first chairperson was Patrick Dodson.
The Council comprised 25 community leaders appointed by the federal Government.
The Council's formation was an acknowledgment of the past and ongoing failure of government policy to recognise and address the cultural, social and economic needs of Indigenous Australians.
It was also the recognition that real progress also required a sea change in the understanding and involvement of non-Indigenous Australians. The Council's main task was to advance a national process of reconciliation "to improve the relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community."
The Council was given a 10-year life, which
ended on the 31st December 2000.
Click here
to access archives on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
Reconciliation as a People’s Movement
A key concept to arise out of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
was the idea of reconciliation as a ‘people’s movement’.
For reconciliation to be successful, reconciliation must be supported
and promoted at a grass-roots level.
Public support for reconciliation reached
an all time high in May 2000, when an estimated 250,000 people walked
across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a further million were involved
in similar marches across Australia.
ANTaR was a key player in this extraordinary
display of public sympathy. The Prime Minister John Howard himself
described the mood of the Australian people as ‘unstoppable
force’ that was ‘overwhelmingly in favour of reconciliation.’
Howard's "practical reconciliation"
policy
The bridge marches, and the formation of multiple reconciliation groups and organisations in the late 1990s were testament to the level of public support for reconciliation and the importance and potential of community-based action in advancing reconciliation.
However, the momentum galvanised in the bridge walks was quickly brought to a halt. At the end of 2000, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation released its final report, with recommendations stressing the need for comprehensive action to address the significant issues of “unfinished business”, including a national apology to the Stolen Generations and a legal treaty.
The Howard Government formally rejected the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation’s recommendations. The Government instead advocated for “practical reconciliation”, stating that true reconciliation was ‘best found within practical means to improve the wellbeing and happiness of Indigenous Australians and raising standards to levels enjoyed and expected by all of us.’
In advocating for “practical reconciliation”, Howard shifted the focus away from a rights agenda by failing to recognise the distinct claims that Indigenous people make on the basis of their status as first peoples and in accordance with customary law and tradition.
Moreover, while “practical reconciliation” forms the rhetorical basis of the Government’s policy, there is widespread evidence that better socio-economic outcomes are not being delivered for Indigenous people. In fact, the health of Indigenous Australians remains the worst in the developed world. The most crucial measure of progress, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, has remained the same over the past five to ten years.
Since 2000, the process of reconciliation in Australia had been stalled. In the absence of strong national leadership and policies commanded at a broader political level, reconciliation fell off the public radar.
Despite these difficulties, significant advances are being made at the local and state levels. ANTaR, with the support of other key organisations and individuals, remains committed to re-invigorating and re-energising the reconciliation movement. And there are signs that the time for a sea change has come once again.
Despite these difficulties, significant
advances are being made at the local and state levels. ANTaR, with
the support of other key organisations and individuals, remains
committed to re-invigorating and re-energising the reconciliation
movement.
Rudd’s National Apology and Beyond
On 13th February 2008, newly elected Labor Prime-Minister Kevin Rudd made a symbolic apology to the Stolen Generations. This act honoured one of his key pre-election promises, and set a clear political demarcation between himself and his predecessor who had adamantly refused to acknowledge the State’s role in the dispossession, removal and subsequent disadvantage of Indigenous people.
This symbolic gesture, combined with intent to implement practical measures aimed at ‘closing the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in terms of life expectancy, education outcomes and infant mortality rates, suggests that the current government is more committed to reconciliation.
In order to achieve effective reconciliation, however, that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to deal with white Australia on equal economic, social and political terms, we must harness the momentum of this current political environment, and support and promote meaningful reconciliation at all levels of the community.
Local Reconciliation Initiatives
Some of the best reconciliation initiatives
have taken place at the local level. In Victoria, ANTaR Victoria,
Reconciliation Victoria, local government agencies and other organisations
are committed to the development of local reconciliation groups
as the base of the reconciliation movement. More recently, the focus
of this movement has extended beyond awareness raising activities
and symbolic recognition to a practical engagement in political
and social issues.
Across more than 25 reconciliation groups
in Victoria there is now a great deal of experience in establishing
and maintaining membership and pursuing diverse activities. Some
groups are strongly established, engaged with local government,
and pursuing practical projects; but others are struggling for membership
and focus.
To learn more about local reconciliation
initiatives or to get involved with a local reconciliation group
in your area:
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