CORROBOREE 2000 IS ABOUT TAKING REAL STEPS TOWARDS RECONCILIATION, NOT JUST "WORDS ON A PIECE OF PAPER"

"Corroboree 2000 is not just about words on a piece of paper but about getting all sections of this nation committed to reconciliation – and to doing something about it," the Chairperson, Evelyn Scott, and Deputy Chair, Sir Gustav Nossal, said today.

"Above all, Corroboree 2000 is the culmination of an amazing people’s movement which has placed reconciliation squarely on the national agenda. Our aim in convening this event is to send a clear message to politicians and leaders in all sections of our society that they must respond to the strength and hopes of that movement," they said.

"For this reason," Ms Scott and Professor Nossal said, "we are surprised and disappointed by the inaccurate statements about the Council’s reconciliation documents and about Corroboree 2000 made by the Council’s highly-respected former Chairperson Patrick Dodson.

"We completely understand that Patrick’s comments come in a climate brought about by recent unfortunate events which have made things very difficult for the reconciliation process," they said. "We want to discuss the issues raised by Patrick with him personally, and we urge him to change his mind and take part in Corroboree 2000, as so many supporters of reconciliation would hope and expect."

However, they said that in the meantime they had no option but to respond on behalf of the Council to the remarks attributed to Mr Dodson, and set the record straight about the Council’s aims.

"Patrick’s comments about what the Council should be trying to achieve, as reported in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, are precisely what we have been trying to achieve," they said. "We are especially disappointed that he has made these statements given that the Council has sought to involve him all along, and has taken on board many of his suggestions in the proposals which it will launch at Corroboree 2000.

"Moreover, since we have kept him informed about the proposed format and draft content of our document proposals, it is most surprising that he should say that ‘... you end a 10-year process with one quarto size piece of paper with words on it’," they said.

Ms Scott and Professor Nossal made the following points:

The Council has always believed that any document towards reconciliation would have to include both an aspirational element - the symbolic side of reconciliation - and action proposals to ensure that reconciliation becomes a reality in people’s lives - the practical side of reconciliation.
The Council’s final documents to be released soon do just that: they contain an Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation as an aspirational statement which we hope all Australians will support, and A Roadmap for Reconciliation setting out concise versions of four strategies for practical actions to make reconciliation a reality.
The Council has drafted and widely circulated more detailed versions of the strategies, and will continue to work with a range of Indigenous and other stakeholders after Corroboree 2000 to refine these into detailed action plans, based on over 150 submissions commenting on the original drafts.
Together, these documents represent "a deal for real change for Indigenous Australia" which Patrick Dodson calls for in the SMH article.
The Council has been engaged in "serious negotiations" about such a deal, not only with Government, as urged by Patrick, but with Indigenous leaders, organisations and communities, and with peak bodies and community organisations in all sections of the wider community.
The Council’s documents reflect the "unfinished business" of reconciliation, and propose a framework for dealing with it, as called for by Patrick and other Indigenous leaders.
The Council will launch later this month a discussion paper on legislative mechanisms to progress the unfinished business of reconciliation, as also called for by Patrick and others.

Ms Scott and Prof. Nossal said that they would seek the earliest possible meeting with Patrick Dodson to discuss his views.

"Even at this late stage, we hope that he will reconsider his participation at Corroboree 2000," they said. "The Council wants this event to reflect a diversity of views about reconciliation and the way forward. We would like Patrick Dodson, with his invaluable experience and views, to be one of the voices there."

CANBERRA 3 MAY 2000

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