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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (30 November) . . Page.. 3528 ..
MR HUMPHRIES: I would like to inform members of the Legislative Assembly about the statement of commitment of reconciliation that the government provided to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation at the end of October 2000. As members know, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established by the federal parliament in 1991 to promote the reconciliation process.
The federal parliament had rightly recognised that Australia had been occupied by indigenous people prior to the European occupation of 1788 and that there had been no formal reconciliation process between indigenous and other Australians. The Commonwealth directed the council to find out whether formal documents of reconciliation would assist the process. The council determined that any such documents would need to:
(a) express Australians' hope for reconciliation and recognise that much needed to be done to realise reconciliation;
(b) recognise that overcoming the consequences of this history and making progress is a shared responsibility of both indigenous and other Australians; and
(c) outline an ongoing process to enable Australians to work together towards a reconciled nation.
Consequently, the council developed draft documents and consulted widely on these. Members may recall that in August 1999 the Legislative Assembly passed a motion of support for the draft document for reconciliation and the council's consultation process. The government also provided detailed feedback on the council's draft national strategies to the council in April this year.
You will recall, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, that the council's big event, Corroboree 2000, took place in Sydney in May of this year. I think we will all remember the weekend of Corroboree 2000 as a very special moment in Australia's history which symbolised the essence of reconciliation. An integral part of that weekend was the launch of the council's documents of reconciliation. These documents consist of:
(a) Corroboree 2000: Towards Reconciliation, which is a principle document and which includes the Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation; and
(b) Road Map for Reconciliation, which is an action document outlining four national strategies to advance reconciliation.
These documents propose a number of actions intended to promote and sustain reconciliation, to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's status and rights, to overcome disadvantage and to promote economic independence. Importantly, they are addressed not just to governments but also to the private sector, to the community and to individuals.
The ACT government has been keen to ensure that the wider reconciliation process continues through the ACT and region. To this end, the former Chief Minister met with representatives from the council and from the Reconciliation Committee for the Australian Capital Region in September this year. The council commended the ACT for
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