National Reconciliation Week 2019
By Bill Potts
On 16 May 2019 former Prime Minister Bob Hawke passed away. Hawke was largely beloved by Australians, as the outpouring which followed his passing evidences. Despite his achievements in office, however, Hawke will be most remembered for one famous line:
“Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum.”
When Australia won the America’s Cup in 1983, Hawke spotted one of those magical moments that unite the nation, and he articulated that feeling with blunt efficiency. Those moments are special, and are often related to sport: Steve Waugh’s last-ball century, Cathy Freeman’s Sydney Gold, Kieran Perkins winning from lane eight — these are times when it seems pretty much the whole country is on the same side, and they are special.
Not all such moments are sport-related; some are much more important (and in Australia, that is saying a lot!). We celebrate two such events this week, which is National Reconciliation Week (NRW), and always falls between the anniversaries of those events.
27 May marks the start of NRW, and is chosen to commemorate the date of the 1967 referendum, called by the Holt Government. The intention was to amend sections 51(xxvi) and 127 of the Constitution to include Indigenous Australians in determinations of population, and allow the Federal Parliament to legislate specifically for Indigenous people. 90.77% of voters said yes, making the referendum the most successful in Australia’s history.
The week ends on 3 June, which was chosen because on that day in 1992 the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992] HCA 23, (1992) 175 CLR 1. That decision ended any notion of Terra Nulius and confirmed that Indigenous land rights existed in Australia unless specifically extinguished by the crown.
That decision also united the country, but in a different way: it confirmed that all Australians had rights, and a voice, before the courts, and that the Highest Court in the land would hear that voice.
Those dates perfectly bookend NRW, and the week itself gives us the chance to reflect on how far we have come, and how far we have to go. It is a good time also to remember that neither of those dates counted as ‘job done’, and that the only way we get to the goal of reconciliation is together.
The theme for 2019 embraces that spirit: “Grounded in truth, walk together with courage”. Pretty good advice at any time, and a great theme for reconciliation in general. We cannot forget the truth, nor be held back by it; acknowledging the past and moving forward with a mutual purpose, fearing no obstacles, is a plan to which we can all aspire.
One of the great things about NRW is that by utilising the resources from the website linked above, and connecting with Indigenous groups and local communities, you can craft a unique way of engaging with the spirit of NRW. For example, the QLS team — along with invited guests from the Indigenous Lawyers Association of Queensland and our Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group — are taking their own walk together. They’ll be doing a cultural walk out to Ron Hurley’s Geerbaugh’s Midden to experience the artwork, picnic on First Nations tucker and take a few more steps towards reconciliation.
Any of our members wanting to know more about these issues or forge their own path to reconciliation might be interested in Queensland Law Society’s presentations on reconciliation, which in celebration of NRW are being offered free to QLS members, solicitors and law firms. Anyone interested can email First Nations Legal Executive Ms Anita Goon — a.goon@qls.com.au
There are many paths to reconciliation, but we have to walk them together; good luck in finding yours, and in finding people to walk it with you.
