Fact Sheet 1

Fanning the Flames of Reconciliation

Introduction

ANTaR is provoking debate among non-indigenous communities about the concept of a treaty. In our view, the notion of Treaty presents non-indigenous Australians with the opportunity to make a commitment to deal with “Unfinished Business" – that is, to redress the past and present injustices and disadvantage mainstream Australia continues to inflict on Indigenous people. Unless we take such action we cannot expect genuine reconciliation to occur. Treaty is the next tangible step towards Reconciliation, a process which badly needs 'a shot in the arm'. In coming to grips with the concept of a treaty, we will be fanning the flames of reconciliation.

This document is intended to help start the thinking of people and organisations that wish to participate in the Treaty process.

What is a Treaty?

A Treaty is a defined and formal agreement between two or more parties. Any such agreement must be the result of consultation and negotiation and deemed as binding upon each signatory.

At minimum, a Treaty between the Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples of this continent must do three things:

• It must make a commitment to remedy current disadvantages and injustices and to work towards a just and equal futur
• It must commit both parties to consulting within and across constituencies, encourage and support local agreements and activities that action the principles
• It must commit the parties to providing the resources necessary to achieving the agreement.

These commitments form the foundation upon which a just future for all of us can be built.

What is Unfinished Business?

'Unfinished Business' is an umbrella term used by Aboriginal people to refer to all the promises made and not yet delivered upon, all the injustices that still remain and the history of conflict, massacres and racist policy that has not been resolved.

‘Unfinished Business’ identified by the former Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation (reference - is it a quote?) includes:

• an acknowledgement of the truth of our shared history
• greater government accountability, for example in the areas of education, health, housing and mortality, to turn the rhetoric of ‘practical reconciliation’ into genuine change
• legislative processes to resolve such issues as land justice, self-determination, traditional law and constitutional reform that acknowledges the place of Indigenous people in terms of history, culture, law and spirituality
• recognition of Indigenous knowledge, culture and spirituality as being of value to non-indigenous people and society.

The most obvious and urgent place to start is the implementation of the recommendations of the government’s own reports. The key recommendations of landmark government reports such as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) and 'Bringing Them Home' (Stolen Generations, 1997) have been largely ignored.

Unfinished Business is mostly non-indigenous business. We have a lot to gain and little to lose by embracing the knowledge held by people through the oldest continuous cultural heritage on earth.

For the peaceful and just future of this country, we must urgently address the Unfinished Business created by two hundred years of unjust domination of Aboriginal people.

Three Prerequisite Principles

Three principles underpin all the issues and any education/consultation that occurs. These are acknowledging the truth about our past as a nation, working with Indigenous people as equals and becoming engaged in the fight for justice.

Acknowledging past wrongs and saying "Sorry"

History is not just about the past. The Australian ‘traditions’ – the ANZACS for example – are built on the past. We must not selectively remember that part of our history that we claim to be ‘glorious’ or the traditions we decide are ‘great’ and choose to forget the bits we don’t want or like. Worse still is to simply dismiss the grievances of prior inhabitants, or any other group of people of this land. We cannot build an honorable future on the quicksand of a dishonorable past – a past cluttered with lies, dislocation, dispossession and countless unmarked graves.

Indigenous people have survived and continued to demand an apology of substance and commitment to the right the wrongs of separation. The task of getting the Australian community and the national Governments to join us in genuinely being and saying sorry, and making a commitment to do something about it, is a complex and difficult task, with a long timeline - many hearts and minds will need to be reached. We think that framing a Treaty may be one way of expressing a commitment to achieve specified outcomes at a national level. The details of how it is to be done, by whom and in what order, ought then to be left to negotiations at the local level.

Sitting Down as Equals

While we must express in general terms our readiness to make commitments via a treaty, we should not make the mistake of assuming that we, the non-indigenous Australians know exactly what should be done. What is included and how it is expressed, what the priorities should be, how many treaties should be written and who the parties to each should be, at what levels they should be agreed, and so on, are all issues to be negotiated. We must NOT once again make the mistake of imposing our agenda on Indigenous Australians.

If Self-Determination and Self-Management are to have any meaning at all, Indigenous and non-indigenous people must sit down together as equals to develop a treaty framework built on respect.

Engaging with and Furthering the Processes of Consultation and Education

ANTaR is pursuing the goal of wide consultation. Through any and every organization that will join us, we want to confront non-indigenous Australia with the issues central to Reconciliation. There has been growing exposure to our true history, the intent and facts of government and welfare agency policies and the impacts these have had on indigenous people. We are also required to listen to the concerns and arguments of those who oppose the ideas of a treaty and reconciliation. The better we understand the arguments for and against, the more we will be able to contribute.

Concurrently ATSIC has begun a process of consultation within Indigenous communities on whether they would want a treaty and if so, what its purpose, content and form should be. A plebiscite is expected to take place some time before the end of 2002. We have a responsibility to keep in touch with their process and close dialogue with the Aboriginal leaders driving the discussions.

The Key Issues

Land

We need to examine the history of invasion and in particular the aggressive dispossession of land accompanied by violence, murder and sickness. The fact that this dispossession took place without any legal basis or formal agreement and largely in reliance on the doctrine of "terra nullius", was finally exposed as a sham by the High Court's Mabo decision in 1992.

The Native Title Act 1993 was a political solution to the question of land justice, but was further weakened by Mr. Howard's Wik amendments in 1998 and that the issue of land needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Stolen Generations

We need to look at the implications of the appallingly inhumane practice of removing children from their families to pursue policies of assimilation based on concepts of racial superiority and lack of respect for the culture and human dignity of Indigenous people. It is hard to imagine a practice more cruel and a defense more hypocritical than the one employed by conservative politicians and commentators from the Prime Minister down who try to belittle the searing suffering caused by that policy even as they are extolling their own commitment to 'family' as the cornerstone of society.

Legal Standing and Constitutional Rights

We need to ensure that the rights of Indigenous people are enshrined in the Constitution. We also need to find a remedy for the absence of any formal agreement or treaty which appears to have left Indigenous people without the necessary legal basis for claiming redress or compensation for the dispossession and deprivation they have suffered and the damage and discrimination they continue to suffer.

Living Standards Now and in the Future

We need to examine the fact that social and economic living standards of Indigenous people are far below those of the general population. The statistics for life expectancy, child mortality, education standards, employment, incarceration and other indicators are similar to those in many of the poorest Third World countries and demonstrate that the past is still with us. They provide ample reason for the many instances of social dysfunction born of despair and a future devoid of hope: alcohol addiction, petrol sniffing, domestic violence, sexual abuse.

ANTaR's Treaty Consultation Campaign

ANTaR is taking seriously the challenge we have received from ATSIC “to provoke debate” on issues related to a possible treaty. It coincides with our own observation that, following the inspiring walks across bridges and other rallies, the push towards Reconciliation has slowed and needs to be given focus and strategic direction. We believe that an informed debate - informed by our documented past and by continuing consultation with Indigenous people and their peak organizations - will provide that focus and direction.

Accordingly, with the support of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence where our office is now located, we have embarked on a Treaty Consultation Campaign, in which we will be "Fanning the Flames of Reconciliation".

ANTaR is available to provide speakers, resource and other assistance which may be required.

This fact sheet is one of a series that have been developed. The full list is available on request and covers such topics as Treaty: What, Why and How?, Land justice and Native Title.