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THE FUTURE OF LOCAL RECONCILIATION BY
Evelyn Scott Chairperson
AT THE NT TOP END RECONCILIATION COUNCIL AGM DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2000 NT Top End Reconciliation Council Chair, Dawn Lawrie, members and all supporters of reconciliation. I would like to acknowledge the Larakia people, the traditional owners of this country and I recognise the living culture of the Larakia people and the unique contribution they make to the life of the Darwin region. I am pleased to be here with you at this pivotal time for the people’s movement. I would like to share with you my thoughts on how we can further promote reconciliation at the local level – a place where it matters so much. Thanks to people such as yourselves here in Darwin and across every State and Territory, Australia now has a better understanding of what reconciliation means and how it can be put into practice. Your good news events and stories in local media have gradually crept into State and National media and into the hearts and minds of other Australians. Since the beginning Council has regarded reconciliation as a people’s movement. At the end of this year the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation will be no longer and people in communities will play a vital role in progressing and achieving reconciliation in our communities and in our nation. Council has always said it alone can not achieve reconciliation – it is up to us all. The challenge for us now is to continue building onto the foundations that a diversity of people, young and old, from different backgrounds, have already built. As we at the Council prepare to pack our bags and head into the sunset on December 31 this year, we hope you will seek commitments to the national reconciliation documents – the Australian Declaration towards Reconciliation and the Roadmap for Reconciliation. The roadmap is a guideline for people and organisations to action reconciliation. As you know, the Council was committed to consulting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and wider communities about the form and content of the reconciliation documents. The reason we wanted your input to the Declaration and Roadmap was because you will be the ones who make reconciliation a part of community life. One of the main things the Council would particularly like to see at a local level is for people to make the reconciliation documents a reality to our everyday lives. We hope that community groups, chambers of commerce, schools and local Governments make commitments and action the Declaration and Roadmap. If we can gain this kind of support it would be a great leap forward for reconciliation. I would like to point to specific examples in our Roadmap for Reconciliation. I believe your community has a definite role in progressing the four strategies outlined in this Roadmap. Take the economic independence strategy, for example. Great steps can be made if employers adopt strategies for employing and training more Indigenous people. I imagine among this group tonight there would be some employers and employees who would be keen to pursue this goal. This would not only benefit your organisation it also benefits the community as a whole. The strategy to sustain the reconciliation process specifically calls on State, Territory and Local Reconciliation Groups to involve the Indigenous and wider communities in promoting reconciliation. Partnerships will continue to be the best and only way to promote reconciliation locally. Ultimately, any service, facility or program used by Indigenous people should be created and managed in consultation with or by Indigenous people. No community, be it Darwin, Katherine, Brisbane or Perth can yet claim to facilitate or enjoy the full participation of those Indigenous people who want to be involved. As you know, Indigenous people still have lower educational qualifications, poorer health and higher unemployment than the wider community. The Roadmap calls on local communities to make commitments to overcome Indigenous disadvantage. This begins with individuals learning more about the causes and extent of disadvantage in their communities and working to eliminate racism in all its forms. Being a reconciliation supporter is more than talk. It is about practicing what we preach. That has been a strength of the people’s movement to date. While we have not achieved a great reduction in those levels of inequality yet, I believe reconciliation will eventually be part of the solution. You are already leaders in the community for the stand you take on reconciliation. The recent walks for reconciliation, the many National Reconciliation Week events and ceremonies, the adoption of protocols by Local Councils are testament to the commitment of people such as yourselves. The fact that we now have a thriving youth reconciliation movement is also due to the commitment of local reconciliation groups and individuals. The simple action of bringing the people and communities together to share stories and information over a barbecue can help breakdown barriers and change people’s attitudes. I would also urge you to encourage your local media to take an interest in reconciliation by feeding them the positive examples of reconciliation. I hope that you will build on the fine tradition of National Reconciliation Week as a focus for reconciliation in the Top End. I hope I have given you an idea of ways you can promote reconciliation locally in the future. I have faith in your ability and I personally value your continuing commitment. I wish you all the very best in the future and I hope we will one day look back on the reconciliation we have achieved together. Thank you.
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