write a speech on the topic the future of the country is in your hands....urgently needed
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I begin by paying my respects to all of the Ngunnawal peoples, the traditional owners of the land where we are gathered. I pay my respects to your elders, past, present and future.
Can I acknowledge:
Minister Macklin – thank you for being here today to formally receive the report on behalf of the Australian Government.
Members of the Steering Committee for the national representative body process: including those present today: Jackie Huggins, Tanya Hosch, Jason Glanville and Geoff Scott
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue
Jeff Harmer, Secretary of FaHCSIA, and other senior bureaucrats
my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters – including those who participated in the consultations for this process
distinguished guests and friends.
It is with great pleasure that I speak to you today to launch the report of the Steering Committee on the establishment of a new National Representative Body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It is a historic day.
It is a day when, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we begin a new journey. When we express our determination to put our future in our hands.
By truly exercising self-determination, for the first time.
By creating the basis for a new relationship with Australian governments, with industry and among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
And by setting a new benchmark for any public organisation in Australia – black or white – in terms of gender equality and ethical standards.
We have been without a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the national level for too long.
We have suffered from the absence of a strong national representative organisation over the past five years.
And governments have also suffered from the absence of a national body. One that can provide credible and robust advice and ensure that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective is heard across the many issues that affect our lives and our communities.
As a result, as a nation we have lacked that most fundamental of requirements for a reconciled nation: a robust, genuine partnership between government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. And one based on mutual respect, shared ambition and common resolve.
A national representative body is not a total solution to this issue, but it is an essential ingredient to ensure a strong partnership. All areas of government will benefit from the existence of the representative body.
Without such a relationship, without our involvement in the processes of government, and without our rights being protected, we will not be able to close the gap.
But we could be on the cusp of a great change.
A new National Representative Body will shortly come into existence.
It will be radically different from anything we have ever seen in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. It will certainly not be ‘business as usual’.
It will learn from the past and build on the foundations that already exist in our communities.
And it will act as a marshalling force for our peak bodies and community organisations so that they can come together in unity and with strength.
In December 2008, the Australian Government requested that, in my capacity as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, I convene an independent Steering Committee of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to develop a preferred model for a National Representative Body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This followed on from an initial round of consultations conducted by the government.
In undertaking our task, the Steering Committee has used a mix of the usual, and the not so usual, techniques.
We convened a workshop of 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Adelaide in March 2009. Every participant was selected through a merit based selection process that also sought to ensure diverse representation from different geographic locations, age groups and with gender equality.
Since that ti
Can I acknowledge:
Minister Macklin – thank you for being here today to formally receive the report on behalf of the Australian Government.
Members of the Steering Committee for the national representative body process: including those present today: Jackie Huggins, Tanya Hosch, Jason Glanville and Geoff Scott
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue
Jeff Harmer, Secretary of FaHCSIA, and other senior bureaucrats
my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters – including those who participated in the consultations for this process
distinguished guests and friends.
It is with great pleasure that I speak to you today to launch the report of the Steering Committee on the establishment of a new National Representative Body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It is a historic day.
It is a day when, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we begin a new journey. When we express our determination to put our future in our hands.
By truly exercising self-determination, for the first time.
By creating the basis for a new relationship with Australian governments, with industry and among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
And by setting a new benchmark for any public organisation in Australia – black or white – in terms of gender equality and ethical standards.
We have been without a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the national level for too long.
We have suffered from the absence of a strong national representative organisation over the past five years.
And governments have also suffered from the absence of a national body. One that can provide credible and robust advice and ensure that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective is heard across the many issues that affect our lives and our communities.
As a result, as a nation we have lacked that most fundamental of requirements for a reconciled nation: a robust, genuine partnership between government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. And one based on mutual respect, shared ambition and common resolve.
A national representative body is not a total solution to this issue, but it is an essential ingredient to ensure a strong partnership. All areas of government will benefit from the existence of the representative body.
Without such a relationship, without our involvement in the processes of government, and without our rights being protected, we will not be able to close the gap.
But we could be on the cusp of a great change.
A new National Representative Body will shortly come into existence.
It will be radically different from anything we have ever seen in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. It will certainly not be ‘business as usual’.
It will learn from the past and build on the foundations that already exist in our communities.
And it will act as a marshalling force for our peak bodies and community organisations so that they can come together in unity and with strength.
In December 2008, the Australian Government requested that, in my capacity as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, I convene an independent Steering Committee of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to develop a preferred model for a National Representative Body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This followed on from an initial round of consultations conducted by the government.
In undertaking our task, the Steering Committee has used a mix of the usual, and the not so usual, techniques.
We convened a workshop of 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Adelaide in March 2009. Every participant was selected through a merit based selection process that also sought to ensure diverse representation from different geographic locations, age groups and with gender equality.
Since that ti
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