Reconciliation 1991 to the present

Reconciliation on a National level

Reconciliation is about unity and respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. It is about respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and valuing justice and equity for all Australians.

Respect and justice have:

• personal, family and community implications
• practical and structural implications
• local, state and national implications

Progress towards reconciliation has been slow.

Below are a few points in the national story.

Some steps on the journey

Royal Commission into the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 1991
The final recommendation of the Royal Commission into the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was a formal process of reconciliation between Indigenous and other Australians.

Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation 1991
In response the Commonwealth Government established the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. It was established in 1991 with the unanimous support of the Parliament. The Councils charter was to raise public awareness and consult on a ‘Document of Reconciliation’ within a 10 year legislated period.

The Redfern Park Speech was made on 10 December 1992
by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating at Redfern Park in Redfern, New South Wales.

Push for constitutional reform February 6, 1995
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) report Recognition, Rights and Reform said constitutional reform is a priority. The report, which was endorsed by ATSIC at its 33rd meeting held in Canberra, said consultations across the country had found overwhelming support for the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the constitution.

Bringing them Home, 1997
Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997

Support for preamble recognition February 2, 1998
The constitutional convention held at Old Parliament House from February 2-13 to debate proposals on whether Australia should become a republic supported Indigenous recognition in a new preamble.

People's walk for Aboriginal reconciliation May 28, 2000
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation's Roadmap To Reconciliation agenda presented at the Corroboree 2000 called on the Federal Parliament to initiate and support a referendum to deal with Sections 25 and 51 (xxvi) and add recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the constitution. More than 250,000 people walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of Indigenous Australians.

Northern Territory National Emergency Response, 2007
The Northern Territory National Emergency Response (also referred to as "the intervention") was a package of changes to welfare provision, law enforcement, land tenure and other measures, introduced by the Australian federal government under John Howard in 2007 to address allegations of rampant child sexual abuse and neglect in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. Significant human rights concerns were raised by the particular approach adopted by the government.

Election pledge for new referendum October 16, 2007
Prime minister John Howard makes a re-election pledge to hold a referendum on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians. Kevin Rudd, as opposition leader, follows by promising bipartisan support for the proposal, regardless of the election outcome.

Apology to the Stolen Generations February 13, 2008
Prime minister Kevin Rudd delivered an apology in Federal Parliament for the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians. In the speech he committed to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage and made a statement of recognition "that today we honor the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history".

Closing the gap targets agreed, 2008
In 2008, COAG (Council of Australian Governments) agreed to six ambitious targets to address the disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians in life expectancy, child mortality, education and employment. They were to:
    • close the gap in life expectancy within a generation (by 2031);
   • halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five by 2018;
   • ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four year olds in remote communities by 2013;
   • halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children by 2018;
   • halve the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 (or equivalent) attainment rates by 2020; and
   • halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and other Australians by 2018.

Expert panel delivers recommendation 16, January 2012
The Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples presents its report to the Gillard government.

Leaders support act for recognition February 2013,
2013 Prime minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott addressed Parliament in support of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill. Ms Gillard said:
"We must never feel guilt for the things already done in this nation's history, but we can and must feel responsibility for the things that remain undone.
"No gesture speaks more deeply to the healing of our nation's fabric than amending our nation's founding charter.
"We are bound to each other in this land and always will be. Let us be bound in justice and dignity as well."

Long-awaited committee report released June 25, 2015
Liberal MP Ken Wyatt tabled a report, with support from the Government, Labor and the Greens, on progress towards a referendum on Indigenous recognition in the constitution. Political and Indigenous leaders plotted a path to referendum

July 6, 2015 Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten
hosted an unprecedented joint summit with about 40 of the nation's most influential Indigenous representatives on the path forward to a referendum.

Referendum Council 2015

The 16-member Referendum Council was jointly appointed by the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, on 7 December 2015. The council was to advise the government on steps towards a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution.

The council was made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders and co-chaired by Patrick Dodson,[3] and Mark Leibler AC.[4] Patrick Dodson resigned from the council on the 2nd of March 2016 after being endorsed by the Australian Labor Party for a vacant Western Australian Senate seat,[3] and was replaced by serving council member Pat Anderson AO.

Meeting to reach a Consensus Document 2017

Over a six-month period the council travelled to 12 different locations around Australia and met with over 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives. The meetings resulted in a consensus document on constitutional recognition, the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

First Nations National Constitutional Convention met over four days from 23 to 26 May 2017.

Statement From the Heart 2017

Council member Megan Davis gave the first public reading of the statement (From the Heart) at the conclusion of the 2017 First Nations National Constitutional Convention at Uluru.

The convention was adopted by the 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates.

Voice Referendum 2023

The 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum was a constitutional referendum held on 14 October 2023 in which the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice was rejected.

Voters were asked to approve an alteration to the Australian Constitution that would recognise Indigenous Australians in the document through prescribing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice that would have been able to "make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples".

The proposal was rejected nationally and by a majority in every state, thus failing to secure the double majority required for amendment by section 128 of the constitution. The Australian Capital Territory was the only state or territory with a majority of "yes" votes.

See the Offical Guide YES | NO Referendum Pamphlet

 

 

 

 

Video Clip L: Rudd's Apology 2008 (4 min 14 sec)