The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is responsible for consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community on whether reconciliation would be helped by a formal document or documents of reconciliation.

Can reconciliation in this nation be advanced by a document or documents of reconciliation?

The Council has established that there is broad community support for a national reconciliation agreement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community which could help build improved relationships and greater understanding and respect.

Such a document would recognise our shared history; celebrate our diverse cultures; acknowledge the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the indigenous peoples of Australia; and provide a framework for all Australians to demonstrate their commitment to national reconciliation. A national reconciliation agreement should be about the past, the present and the future, and still be meaningful a hundred years from now.

Community support has also been shown for other sorts of documents of reconciliation, such as a new preamble in our Constitution, and laws which would recognise the unique status of indigenous Australians as the original owners of this land. Regional and local agreements which promote reconciliation through mutual respect and understanding can also be documents of reconciliation. Many communities have already begun negotiating agreements which will result in improved local relationships.

These documents can provide both symbolic and practical commitments to reconciling the interests of indigenous peoples with those of the wider community. Such agreements are not ends in themselves, but are a way of promoting shared interests and achieving justice and equity for all Australians.

Following widespread consultation, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation has undertaken to produce by May 2000 a draft national document of reconciliation for public consideration.

Support recognition of and respect for the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the indigenous peoples of Australia, through a national document of reconciliation and in reconciliation agreements at your local or regional level.