27 May – 3 June is National Reconciliation Week in Australia. This is a week that calls for all Australians to learn about shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how we can all contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The significance of the first date is that 27 May marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when indigenous Australians were first officially counted as citizens of this country. 3 June marks the anniversary of the High Court Mabo decision that ruled that indigenous people had indeed lived and productively used the land (well) before the European colonisers came, thus overturning the fallacy of this country being terra nullius (empty land).
The theme for National Reconciliation Week this year is Be a Voice for Generations. This has an obvious link to the referendum later this year to include a permanent indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution. If passed, this Voice will have an effect for generations to come. It is also a call to use our voices to have conversations about the referendum and its implications for reconciliation – whether to take a step forward together or reject the proposal and create further division.
In the closing words of the Uluru statement from the Heart that was the impetus for the Voice to Parliament … “In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”
This is a gracious invitation to continue the long journey of reconciliation. Are you ready and willing to take this step? If not, what is really holding you back?