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A united Australia which respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all.
Vision statement of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
National Reconciliation Week (NRW), which was first celebrated in 1996, aims to give people across Australia the opportunity to focus on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It is a time to 'reflect on achievements so far and on what must still be done to achieve reconciliation' (Reconciliation Australia).
National Reconciliation Week falls between 27 May and 3 June - two significant dates in the relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians:
27 May: anniversary of referendum
27 May is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which 90% of Australians voted to remove clauses in the Australian Constitution which discriminated against Indigenous Australians. The referendum altered the Australian Constitution (s. 127 and s. 51 xxvi) so that Aborigines could be included in the census count and so that the Commonwealth could make laws with respect to Aborigines as a race. Its intent was to end discrimination against Indigenous Australians. The referendum also gave the Australian Federal Government the power to make laws on behalf of Indigenous Australians.
3 June: High Court and Eddie Mabo
3 June is the date the High Court of Australia handed down its judgment on the Mabo case. Eddie Mabo was from Mer, one of the Murray Islands off the coast of Northern Australia. He argued in the High Court that Murray Islanders' rights to their land were not extinguished by the annexation of the islands by the State of Queensland, or by subsequent Queensland or federal governments' legislation. The High Court agreed with this view and the idea of 'terra nullius' - that Australia had been empty of people when settled by the British - was abandoned and the pre-existing rights of Indigenous Australians acknowledged.
Each year National Reconciliation Week has a different theme. Some past themes have been 'Communities working Together' (1998), 'Walking Together' (1999), 'Sharing our future: The next steps' (2000), 'Reconciliation: Keeping the Flame Alive' (2001), and 'Reconciliation: It’s Not Hard to Understand' (2003).
Establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established under the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991 and was charged with this mission:
The object of the establishment of the Council is to promote a process of reconciliation between Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community, based on an appreciation by the Australian community as a whole of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and achievements and of the unique position of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders as the Indigenous peoples of Australia, and by means that include the fostering of an ongoing national commitment to co-operate to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage.
(Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991, Section 5)
The Council argues that in order for reconciliation between black and white Australians to be truly successful it needs to be a process in which the wider Australian community takes part. The Council works closely with the Australian Local Government Association to have the issue of reconciliation on the local community agenda.
Flora MacDonald, from the ACT branch of Australians for Reconciliation, says:
For myself I think that nothing will ever change for this country and the people in it unless we do become involved. And we need to include Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders in our communities so that we can all learn from one another and develop a real awareness, understanding, appreciation and respect for the culture and history of Indigenous Australia. The reconciliation movement is a people's movement and needs people involvement. Its basis is the inclusion of the Indigenous peoples of Australia, not their exclusion. And that is healing for all of us.
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation suggests that people who want to make reconciliation with Indigenous Australians part of their community's activities should talk to their local Council or Reconciliation Group to find out what is being planned for NRW. Do you have any spare time? You may be able to help:
- Take part in planned NRW events and activities - your local Council and/or Australians for Reconciliation coordinator may be able to assist you.
- Ask your local Council, school and/or library to fly the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian flags throughout the week.
- Ask an Indigenous community member to lead a heritage walk through your area and invite members of your community.
- Ask local businesses to display reconciliation posters.
- Reconciliation is about sharing history - find out about the Indigenous history of your area; ask a local Indigenous person to come and talk to you and your group.
As Flora MacDonald says:
I think that to be accepted and included in a society must be a whole lot different to being excluded, derided, dispossessed and despised. I would like to think the people in this country have the capacity and the caring to want to turn this around, to know there is a better way for all of us - that is the bottom line.
Corroboree 2000
Robert James Wallace, Participants in the Corroboree 2000 'Sorry' Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk, 28th May, 2000, photograph: digital. Photograph courtesy of Robert James Wallace.
On 27 - 28 May 2000, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation convened a major national event, Corroboree 2000, which was a landmark for reconciliation in our country. This event honoured and celebrated the achievements of reconciliation so far, and set a framework for continuing the process beyond 2000.
On Sunday 28 May 2000 more than 250,000 people participated in the Corroboree 2000 Bridge Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge. This walk was in support of Indigenous Australians and was organised by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (now known as Reconciliation Australia), a federal government initiative to promote greater understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The event highlighted the issue of a lack of an apology by the (then) Australian Government to the Stolen Generations.
Formal apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples
On the 13th of February 2008, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, tabled a motion in parliament apologising to Australia's Indigenous peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations and their families and communities, for laws and policies which had 'inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.' The apology included a proposal for a policy commission to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in 'life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.'
Related Culture and Recreation Portal Stories
- Sorry Day
- Aboriginal heritage
- Australian Indigenous art
- Australian Indigenous tools and technology
- The Dreaming
- Aboriginal trackers
- Australian Indigenous ceremony - song, music and dance
Useful links
- Reconciliation Australia
- Finding Common Ground: Towards a Document for Reconciliation
- The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act
- Summary of the findings in the Mabo case
- Eddie Mabo and others vs the State of Queensland
- Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation
- Weaving the Threads - progress towards reconciliation: report to Parliament covering the second term of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
- Australasian Legal Information Institute: this website has a search function which allows you to find Australian government legislation - both federal and state
- The Australian Local Government Association and ATSIC have developed two resources useful to local communities: Working out Agreements: a practical guide between local governments and Indigenous Australians; and, Working with Native Title.
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Last updated: 14th February 2008
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