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ReconciliationWhat do we mean by reconciliation?
For ANTaR Victoria, reconciliation is understood 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.
The public process of reconciliation began with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) and has continued through the work of ANTaR and 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.
However, reconciliation 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.
Over the last three years, the work that ANTaR Victoria has been involved with through the Fanning the Flames of Reconciliation project has brought about a shift in our thinking. 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.
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.
Therefore we must continue to educate ourselves, continue to raise awareness and place symbols of recognition in our homes, in our schools, in our churches and in other institutions. But we must be careful to not be too tokenistic.
We must be prepared to be confronted by our personal and community 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.
ANTaR's 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. It also means create
safe and informed spaces so that Australians can start speaking
up and acknowledging the truth of what has happened, and continues
to go on, in Australia.
Click here to see what ANTaR can do for you.
Click
here to find out what you can do.
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
The Council comprised 25 community leaders appointed by the federal Government, "drawn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the industries which have most impact on Aboriginal people and from business and other sectors."
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
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
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 has been stalled. In the absence of strong national leadership and policies commanded at a broader political level, reconciliation has fallen 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.
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 30 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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