Page 341 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 14 February 2017
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cross-government support for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives across the areas of health, justice, community services, education, environment and land management. These initiatives will ensure better coordination, promotion and awareness throughout government, reduce duplication and improve linkages across programs.
The government is also providing resources to increase awareness of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body’s role in representing the views and concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the ACT. In particular, this role includes building greater connections with the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in order for them to share their views and concerns on matters of significance to the ACT government.
I am committed to working with Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to achieve more equitable outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to celebrate their diverse cultures and contributions to the life of the capital. To progress reconciliation in the ACT we are working to develop strong relationships built on trust and respect that are free of racism and we are seeking to create opportunities for full and equitable participation in the life of the territory and the nation.
Reconciliation Australia has identified five interrelated dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, historical acceptance and unity. Unity is described as:
… an Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity.
This is what we are aiming for. As we look to the future and continue to work towards unity and reconciliation, we will also continue to celebrate past achievements.
Madam Speaker, 2017 marks 50 years since the 1967 national referendum to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be counted in the census and to remove reference in the Australian constitution which discriminated against Aboriginal people. This referendum saw the highest national yes vote ever recorded, with 90.77 per cent voting for change.
This year also marks 25 years since the landmark Mabo decision. On 3 June we will commemorate the 1992 decision of the High Court of Australia which declared that terra nullius should not be applied to Australia, legally recognising the prior custodianship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their special relationship with the land. On 11 August 2016 the Legislative Assembly passed a resolution calling on the ACT government to work with the community to establish a Reconciliation Day public holiday in 2018 and mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the 25th anniversary of Mabo with significant community events.
I am pleased to note that officials are working with their commonwealth colleagues on significant community events to mark the important anniversaries this year. I am also
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