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BEYOND CORROBOREE:
OUR VISION FOR RECONCILIATION
A SPEECH BY
DR EVELYN SCOTT
CHAIRPERSON
AT SISTERS IN UNITY: BEYOND 2000 CONFERENCE
ROMA, QUEENSLAND
TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2000 To my sisters here today, the Chairperson Aida Martin, the Downs Aboriginal and Islander Womens’ Support Group, elders. I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the land of the Manandantji people, the traditional owners of this land. I pay respect to the continuing culture of the Manandantji people and the unique contribution that they make to the life of the Goolburri region. Thank you for having me with you at this important conference for women. I see that you will be covering some important subjects, and I thank you for putting reconciliation on your agenda. I have been asked to speak to you today about the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation’s last major event, Corroboree 2000. I will also tell you more about national reconciliation documents for the nation, which we launched at that event. As you may know, this is the Council’s last year. It was only set up by federal Parliament for a period of 10 years, and will cease to exist after December 31. As we all know, reconciliation will not be achieved by the end of this year. We know that it will be the people of Australia who make reconciliation a reality in our parliaments, organisations, workplaces and communities. That is why my Council has worked hard to consult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community to create reconciliation documents to guide the rest of the process. I will talk to you about how those documents will help all Australians to progress reconciliation in a minute—but first I want to share with you the enthusiasm that I know many Australians feel about reconciliation. The first day of Corroboree 2000 was held at the Sydney Opera House on May 27. It was the broadest gathering of political leaders possibly ever held in Australia. Not only were Indigenous leaders Geoff Clarke, Mick Dodson and others present, the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Leader of the Democrats and key business leaders also attended. Two thousand people from the Indigenous and wider communities, representing a broad cross-section of States, Territories and sectors witnessed the hand over of the Council’s reconciliation documents. The following day, more than 250, 000 people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to show their support for reconciliation. That was the most wonderful feeling, walking across the bridge with my brothers and sisters. I saw people from the indigenous and wider communities, old people and young people alike, waving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. As we had written in our Declaration Towards Reconciliation, I saw one part of the nation that wanted to say sorry and another part accept the apology, and forgive. One of the most touching moments of the walk was the clapping and cheering of thousands of people when the word "Sorry" appeared in the sky. It summed up what I felt was the emotion of the day. The People’s Walk for Reconciliation on that day truly inspired me. I believe those people that walked the bridge were not only showing their general support for reconciliation. They knew what was in our reconciliation documents, and they were also showing their support for those documents. Corroboree 2000 affirmed my belief that reconciliation has the potential to define a mature Australia, a nation that's come to terms with the shared past of its Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and is ready to go forward together. A week later, I was thrilled when up to 70,000 people turned up to the Brisbane walk for reconciliation. The mood was the same all over the country. I heard reports of walks springing up in communities such as Adelaide, Roeburne, WA, Bega, Moruya and Coffs Harbour and beyond. The people have spoken, and they'll continue to say that reconciliation is a real thing – a red-hot item on our national, state and local agenda. Our political leadership must listen and act. I know now that they will, eventually, embrace both the spirit and the practical goals of reconciliation. They can't afford to ignore the inspiring message of commitment from the grassroots of our society - from the People's Movement for Reconciliation. I would now like to tell you about my Council’s national documents of reconciliation. These documents bring together the results of a decade of work and include two documents. The first, Corroboree 2000: Towards Reconciliation, includes the "Australian Declaration towards Reconciliation" a symbolic statement which my Council hopes all Australians will support. The second, a Roadmap for Reconciliation sets out concise versions of four strategies to advance reconciliation, including actions to improve the lives of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. These two documents are a call to action. The Council has laboured long and hard over them. Now they are squarely in the public domain. It is up to governments and the Australian people to make their responses and their decisions. Key elements of the documents include:
The Roadmap demonstrates clearly that reconciliation depends on us, as a nation, addressing the important outstanding issues. Such issues include the need for substantial improvements in our people’s health, education and employment statistics. We need a reduction in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody, recognition of the place of customary law, the recognition of Indigenous rights, and the offer of a national apology to the Stolen Generations. The Council will present a final report to Parliament in December this year recommending ways to deal with this unfinished business. It will then be up to the Parliament and the Australian people to make reconciliation happen. Either way, the people’s journey towards genuine reconciliation will continue. Women have played a vital role in the reconciliation process. Our understanding and special empathy with vital issues like the Stolen Generations, our willingness to tackle the face-to-face tasks - all these have been crucial. Without women, the People's Movement for Reconciliation would not have developed the momentum, the strength, that it's demonstrated so convincingly in the last few months. Some of us have had the chance to move things forward at the national level. Many, many more have done the job in our communities and in people-based organisations such as the Downs Support Group. I thank you committed women for your strength in this journey. We all know there are still many steps to be taken on the path to genuine reconciliation, nationally and locally. I am confident we can complete the journey together. Thank you.
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