Final report of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation

In reflecting on the experience and outcomes of 'the decade of reconciliation' - a unique process in this nation's history - the Council wishes to place on record some conclusions. We do so to assist Australia's continuing journey towards reconciliation. Our declaration states '...many steps have been taken, many steps remain...'

Fantastic. I watched all the children and saw how it is so important to them.

Carol Wright (Aunt Sally) Nowra at the Sydney Bridge Walk (2000)

As the body charged with promoting and overseeing the formal process established by Parliament, the Council and its members have been privileged to take part in that unique experience. Usually, only practice and experience can tell us the validity of what we are trying to do, and the value of what we are trying to achieve.

So we have drawn the following conclusions and principles from the work of the Council and of the tens of thousands of people who have actively engaged with the complex process of reconciliation.

We hope that these will assist all those who wish to take reconciliation forward in the years ahead.

1. The Parliament's unified decision to launch a formal reconciliation process was the right decision at the right time.

2. Cross-party support for the process and for Council's work was and remains an essential element of success.

3. The time was right for the process to begin, and all Australians can take heart from the positive outcomes so far.

4. Nevertheless, a decade was a short time to address the legacies of 200 years of history, and much remains to be done.

5. The many People's Walks for Reconciliation during and after Corroboree 2000, involving hundreds of thousands, could not have been predicted when the process began.

6. Similarly, nor could the historic achievement of bringing together on the first day of Corroboree 2000 all heads of government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, and representatives of peak bodies and sectors, to support the Council's Vision of reconciliation while openly acknowledging differences on the way forward.

7. The acknowledgment during the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the recognition of their cultures and contributions could not have occurred without the reconciliation process.

As this generation of Australians accepts its responsibility to construct a lasting reconciliation between Indigenous Australians and the rest of our citizens, the most pressing question is how we give that process some meaning. At this point in time I believe that, despite the shared sense of dedication among Australians about reconciliation, there is also a degree of uncertainty about how it is to be achieved. If we have identified the problem and begun a process of new national awareness, how do we make it meaningful and lasting...

The Hon Richard Court, Premier of Western Australia (1999)

8. The overwhelming majority of Australians generally support reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community.

9. There is broad agreement that reconciliation is vital for Australia's future as a mature, harmonious nation.

10. The decade has seen a major shift in attitudes, with reconciliation moving from a little-understood concept to a key item on the national agenda coming up to the centenary of Federation.

11. However, people differ on exactly what reconciliation means and how to achieve it.

12. Much of this is a healthy diversity - different views are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

13. The tasks of reconciliation will vary according to local needs and circumstances.

14. It is important to establish an agreed framework for this healthy diversity.

15. Council believes that its two reconciliation documents (the Declaration and the Roadmap ) provide such a framework.

16. While Australians overwhelmingly support reconciliation and support many propositions in the Council's documents, they are evenly divided on other issues.

17. For example, despite overwhelming evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the most disadvantaged Australians, almost half the Australian people believe that they are not disadvantaged.

18. Ignorance, apathy, resistance and opposition still exist in parts of the wider community about reconciliation and the need to overcome Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage.

You are deluding yourself if you believe that there has been any significant change of heart by mainstream Australians towards Aborigines in recent times, particularly since the Council's Final Declaration was published. The walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge ... means very little if viewed objectively.

D. Tregaskis, Victoria, excerpt from letter to Council (2000)

19. For that matter, not all Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are convinced about the process. Some ask why should they reconcile when they've done nothing wrong - the wrongs have been done to them.

20. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples also remain unconvinced about how reconciliation can improve employment, education and housing outcomes and make a difference to their daily life circumstances.

21. Despite major advances, Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders often still face prejudice when trying to rent a home, find a job, hire a taxi, get service in shops and banks, and when doing the simple everyday things that most Australians take for granted.

22. Public awareness and education about such issues remains a key task of reconciliation.

23. Continuing acute disadvantage, discrimination and racism suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remains the biggest challenge for reconciliation.

24. For these and other reasons, true and lasting reconciliation is not a foregone conclusion.

25. Reconciliation is hard work - it's a long, winding and corrugated road, not a broad, paved highway.

26. Determination and effort at all levels of government and in all sections of the community will be essential to make reconciliation a reality.

27. Consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, other stakeholders, and the broad community, has been essential to get this far, and will be essential to going further.

28. Consultation has helped identify key issues, find common ground, and develop suitable approaches for going forward.

29. It is critical to listen and hear, not just talk, and to follow up with action.

30. It is important to talk with each other, not past, to or for each other.

31. Successful consultation requires mutual respect and understanding, recognising local protocols, and preparedness to adapt to different customs and cultures.

35. Education is crucial for the future of reconciliation, in many senses.

36. Better educational outcomes for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are essential to ensure equality of opportunity with other Australians.

37. The education system should also provide all Australians with the opportunity to learn about our shared history.

38. Some Council members were surprised during major consultations to hear so many people ask 'How come we didn't know about this before?' when discussing our history.

39. Our experience is that understanding of history helps to bring mutual respect and recognition of the diversity of our society.

40. Governments and leaders in all sections of society should also take responsibility for raising public awareness about reconciliation issues through community education.

41. The media has a particular responsibility to provide objective coverage and information.

42. A strong grassroots people's movement is the key to ensuring that reconciliation becomes a reality in all aspects of the nation's life and identity.

43. The people's movement has already demonstrated the powerful momentum of reconciliation.

44. It has shown that individuals can make a difference, and produced many advocates for reconciliation.

45. Actions in local communities and organisations are changing things at the local level.

46. While celebrating its progress towards reconciliation, Australia must also acknowledge that outstanding issues remain to be resolved between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community.

47. Reconciliation requires overcoming differences in social and economic outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.

Like any other society Aboriginal people need land as a resource, but land is also very important to people's identity. The religious relationship that people have with traditional country is an important part of their psychology - people get very emotional about their country... I think the impact which disruption to this relationship has on individuals and groups and entire communities is little understood. To disrupt and dislocate and damage a country that is psychologically important to people is to tear down that person's identity and place in the universe. That is why loss of land for Aboriginal people is not just the depletion of an economic resource. If you disrupt Aboriginal people's relationship with their country you're not just removing economic sustenance from them but you're removing spiritual sustenance... The Cape York people and communities are traumatised. The social conditions and problems which they face are directly related to the history of their removal from land and the treatment that they and the land have received.

Noel Pearson (1995)

48. A framework for doing this has been outlined in Council's strategies for overcoming disadvantage and achieving economic independence, contained in the Roadmap for Reconciliation , and more detailed ways of implementing these strategies are provided in companion booklets.

49. Reconciliation also requires a formal resolution of issues which were never addressed when this land and its waters were settled as colonies without treaty or consent.

50. To achieve such a formal resolution through an agreement or treaty will require much public discussion and understanding, as well as consultations and negotiations in good faith between all parties.

51. Any such formal settlement will also need to address the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in regard to their rights both as Australian citizens and as Indigenous peoples.

52. In the Roadmap for Reconciliation , Council has outlined a strategy to promote recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, and a more detailed booklet explains the issues and how they might be addressed.

53. Council believes that the Commonwealth Parliament should legislate to establish a framework for negotiating the resolution of outstanding issues, and has provided a possible draft of such legislation (see Appendix 3).

54. With so much achieved and a framework established, the reconciliation process must now go on to do the things which remain to be done.

55. Council's National Strategy to Sustain the Reconciliation process outlines a framework for how to do this, and a companion booklet provides more detailed suggestions.

56. Sustaining the reconciliation process will require commitment and action at all levels and in all sections of the Australian community, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

57. This includes specific organisations and networks at the grass roots - without which the people's movement cannot continue.

58. The Council believes that it will also require a specific body - a foundation - to provide a national focus and national leadership in working towards reconciliation.

59. Therefore, in discussion with a range of stakeholders, the Council has established an independent foundation, Reconciliation Australia , which will carry on these tasks from 1 January 2001.

Based on these conclusions, the Council now makes its recommendations on the manner of giving effect to its reconciliation documents.