Reconciliation in Action | A long history of ‘no’s’

To think about what the words on the page meant.

Really meant.

To think about the long fight for basic recognition.

Recognition of prior sovereignty – sovereignty that has never been ceded.

To recognise the links to this land that go back into the mists of time.

The thousands of generations whose feet have walked and cared for this earth.

Too many to even contemplate.

Well beyond the eye-blink of history captured by genealogy sites such as Ancestry.

A time well before the Ice Age.

When the oceans were much lower, there was a land bridge between lutruwita (Tasmania) and the Gulf of Carpentaria, was a great, grassed plain.

A time when megafauna roamed the continent, their presence captured in images in ochre by artists who could never imagine this place as it is today.

A time of the dreaming stories that have been passed down over countless generations.

Stories that we are slowly understanding.

Links that have always been known, but with which modern science is still struggling to catch up and to comprehend the vastness of this history.

To know that the longest continuing culture on the planet is here – in Australia – is truly amazing.

It is the recognition of this amazing story that makes this country’s story so unique.

But the story is also about people.

Again, the words of that acknowledgement: “We pay our respects to Elders no longer with us who fought tirelessly for respect and justice, and Elders today who continue to inspire and lead us in the hope for a better future for our nation.”

It is about those Elders – leaders of their communities – who have repeatedly called for a say in matters that affect their people.

It is about understanding how long First Nations people have been calling for justice and fairness.

For recognition of their place as First Nations of this continent.

In the Goulburn Valley, deputations as far back as 1861, called for fairness – for a tax on each steamer passing along the Dungala (Murray River) to be paid in compensation for interference with fishing areas.

Result – no such tax.

In 1881, a petition signed by residents of the Maloga Mission requested: ‘‘a sufficient area of land to cultivate and raise stock; that we may form homes for our families (and in) a few years support ourselves by our own industry.’’

This petition was rejected.

In 1887, another petition requesting 100-acre blocks for Aboriginal men with farming skills was refused.

Whilst 40 acre blocks were allocated at Cummeragunja Mission between 1897 and 1907, this achievement was bittersweet.

Title did not pass to the landholders, in contradiction to what they had always believed.

No control, no input into decisions that would have enormous repercussions on everyday life at Cummeragunja.

No security of land or agency over their own lives.

This was compounded in 1909, by the passing of the Aborigines Protection Act.

Full control of reserves and missions was assumed by the NSW Board for the Protection of Aborigines and the previously allocated land was taken by the board.

The newly-federated country of Australia required a ‘rule book’ and, in 1901, the Constitution came into being.

There were only two mentions of the First Peoples of this continent.

Section 51 (XXVI) gave the Commonwealth power to make laws with respect to ‘people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any state, for whom it was deemed necessary to make special laws’; and Section 127 provided that ‘in reckoning the numbers of people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted’.

The whitewashing of Australia was written into our founding document.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – the First Peoples of this land – were not even considered citizens.

They would have to wait until the 1967 referendum for this.

And so it goes on.

In 1924, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association called for citizenship, self-determination, land rights, and political representation.

No response.

In 1937, Aboriginal Progressive Association called for full citizenship rights and Aboriginal representation.

Again, no response.

In the same year, William Cooper collected over 1800 signatures collected across the nation for a petition to King George V, requesting Aboriginal representation in parliament.

The number of signatures is extraordinary in a time before emails or social media.

Prime Minister Joseph Lyons decided “no good purpose” would be gained by sending the petition to England.

Again a “No”.

After the tireless work of Mr Cooper’s grandson, Uncle Boydie Turner, the petition was finally presented to Queen Elizabeth in 2014 – 77 years later.

But there was no action.

In 1963, the Yolngu Nation presented two Bark Petitions to the Federal Parliament asking for recognition of land rights.

“… the people of this area fear their needs and interests will be completely ignored as they have been ignored in the past …”

Another “No”.

In 1988, the Barunga Statement was presented to then Prime Minister Bob Hawke calling for a treaty recognising “our prior ownership, continued occupation and sovereignty and affirming our human rights and freedom”.

Mr Hawke promised a treaty.

That promise was not kept.

In 2015, First Nations leaders refused to endorse the recommendations of the Referendum Council and instead declared: “any reform must involve substantive changes to the Australian Constitution. It must lay the foundation for the fair treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples into the future.”

A request for fairness; to look to the future of our nation.

Finally, in 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was read out by Megan Davis from the red heart of the country.

It was deliberately addressed as an invitation to the Australian people.

An opportunity for us all to change the narrative.

To have a mature and respectful conversation about the impacts of colonisation.

It is a major step in our path to becoming a nation that can respectfully acknowledge the history of the First Peoples and the uniqueness that is the full Australian story.

Reflecting a faith that we are a fair nation.

That the people of this country want a better future together.

As journalist and author, Nick Bryant wrote recently in The Age: “Here is the chance for Australia to determine its self-image. Here is the opportunity for Australians to write their own story.”

To finally say “Yes”.

To find out more about the Referendum:

Read Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien’s book, The Voice to Parliament.

Take the time to read or listen to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/

The Statement is available in 60 languages for Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities. To listen or download a copy in these languages, go to https://ulurustatement.org/education/translations/

Find out more about the Voice to Parliament Referendum – make sure the information is accurate.

To be part of a yarn about why the Uluru Statement and the Voice to Parliament are so important go to https://ulurustatement.org/education/start-a-yarn/

To read responses to common concerns about the Voice go to www.anu.edu.au/about/strategic-planning/indigenous-voice-to-parliament