Posted by Jill Gallagher AO on 16 November 2017

Tags: Treaty, VACCHO, recognition, Makarrata, Victorian Government, Uluru Statement from the Heart, Yes vote, marriage equality survey, Australian Parliament, Turnbull Government, Aboriginal Community Assembly, Victorian Aboriginal

The announcement of the Yes vote in the marriage equality survey has given me hope that Australians are also ready for some change when it comes to giving Aboriginal people a formal voice in the Australian Parliament.

We want to reach a Makarrata, which put simply is a treaty, but it means a lot more than that. Makarrata is a complex Yolngu word describing a process of conflict resolution, peacemaking and justice. It’s a philosophy that helped develop and maintain lasting peace among the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. Reaching a Makarrata is the goal of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which was agreed in May this year. We can make this happen.

I was proud to be in the delegation that wrote the Uluru Statement. I’m proud to represent my people, and also VACCHO in this important process, and I’m really hoping all Australians will get behind it, despite the Turnbull Government rejecting us in recent weeks.

Back when I was first involved in this process I was a little bit naïve about what “recognition” meant. Initially I was supportive of Aboriginal people being recognised in Australia’s constitution and so proud if that was going to happen. But I didn’t fully understand the ramifications or the non-ramifications of just “recognition”. And then I started listening to another camp so to speak, saying we don’t want to just be recognised, why do we only want to be in a preamble? It does nothing. What are the real outcomes on the ground for us as Aboriginal people? And then I realised true recognition is about having a strong voice for your people in our Parliament, where the big decisions affecting our lives are made.

I don’t want us to just be recognised in Australia’s constitution, I actually want a powerful voice to be able to advocate to the Australian Government what the needs and the aspirations of Aboriginal people in this country are. I believe if we do have a strong voice in Parliament or to Parliament, it will pave the way for a lot of the work VACCHO does around the holistic approach to improving the health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal people. VACCHO has this holistic approach because we realise you can’t just deal with health without dealing with housing and other aspects of life. If you haven’t got a roof over your head you can’t be all that healthy. If you haven’t got a job, that is going to have a negative impact on your health. The social determinants of health are just as important to address in a holistic way and we advocate to Government for that. Having a strong, effective voice in Parliament through Makarrata will help us achieve so much more, to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes for our people.

That’s why it’s so deadly to see what the Victorian Government is doing towards negotiating Treaty here. Just yesterday I spoke at the Aboriginal Community Assembly. The Victorian Government are taking our people seriously with this Treaty work. That’s going to set a roadmap towards improving the wellbeing of our communities. Our mob, as we well know, has been disempowered for many, many generations and with disempowerment comes distress, comes a lack of resilience. Our self-esteem has suffered and there have been so many social, emotional and wellbeing issues in our community as a result of that disempowerment. I believe if we are successful at the national level, and also at the state level, it will make a humongous difference in the wellbeing of our people across this country. The Uluru Statement and the establishment of a Treaty body in Victoria will be complementary, they’re both about truth telling and healing the past for a better future for Aboriginal people.

We need all Victorians, all Australians, to support us on the Uluru Statement from the Heart and our work towards Treaty in our State. A recent poll showed the majority of Australians support us having an Aboriginal voice to Parliament, the same sort of numbers that supported marriage equality. Let’s hope we don’t have to waste another $120 million asking Australians about Makarrata and the Turnbull Government will listen to what the Aboriginal people want. They did ask us, after all. It’s time for them to listen to our mob.

• Tweet  
•  
•