Health groups are among more than 55 organisations to have signed an Allies for Uluru Statement of Commitment, as National Reconciliation Week is held with the theme, Now More Than Ever.
Signatories include the Fred Hollows Foundation, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health, Health Justice Australia, Beyond Blue, the Public Health Association of Australia, Mental Health Australia, Palliative Care Australia, The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, cohealth, Consumers of Mental Health WA, and the Indigenous Eye Health Unit at The University of Melbourne.
The statement follows below.
Allies for Uluru Statement of Commitment
On 14 October 2023, more than six million Australians said ‘Yes’ to walking together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for a better future.
In the wake of the referendum, the Allies for Uluru continue to stand in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
As a coalition of civil society organisations, corporations and community groups, we are committed to demonstrating our full and unwavering support for the core principles of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
That is…
- We recommit to actively pursuing the establishment of representative voices for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples;
- We recommit to supporting sovereign to sovereign agreement-making and treaty negotiations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Australian governments; and
- We recommit to actively pursuing a national truth-telling process, as a vehicle for healing.
We will not be fair-weather allies, we will not turn back, and we will not hesitate in continuing to fight for justice and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), self-determination is the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to be in control of decision-making that affects their lives. We recognise that this self-determination must be catalysed by the transfer of funding and decision making to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. As Allies, we will also seek to embody Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative voices in our own structures and programs.
As Allies, we must incubate our hope for a better future, yet more than this, we must join our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in building the future that we desire. We will do this by continuing to advocate for the rights and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Where we see pockets of hope or progress – nationally, regionally and locally – we will add our voices to those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, organisations and communities.
We call on all Australian governments and opposition parties to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to lay the foundation for a more fair and truthful relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. We believe that this will deliver a better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, one based on justice and self-determination. In turn, we believe that this will deliver a better future for all Australians.
The Allies for Uluru reaffirm that the way forward for our nation lies in accepting the generous invitation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and actively working together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to build our shared vision for a mature, just and equal Australia.
View PDF version of the Statement
Signatories
- The Fred Hollows Foundation
- ANTAR
- Oxfam Australia
- ACOSS
- Settlement Services International
- Perinatal Wellbeing Centre
- Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health
- University of Divinity
- Sydney Peace Foundation
- Health Voyage Ltd
- HIPA International Pty Ltd
- Koala Action Inc.
- UnitingCare Australia
- Australian Conservation Foundation
- Public Interest Advocacy Centre
- Australian Lawyers Alliance
- Uniting Church in Australia Assembly
- Uniting Church in Australia – Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
- Shoalhaven Alliance for Yes23
- SEARCH Foundation
- Health Justice Australia
- Beyond Blue
- ANTaR ACT
- Public Health Association of Australia
- Mental Health Australia
- Sacred Heart Mission
- Reconciliation NSW
- IWDA
- ANTaR Victoria
- Palliative Care Australia
- Cerebral Palsy Alliance
- The Wilderness Society
- Edmund Rice Centre for Justice
- Dataspace Insight Pty Ltd
- The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council
- Greenpeace Australia Pacific
- Speaking Up For You
- ANTaR Queensland
- West Australian Council of Social Service
- Catholic Social Services Australia
- Infoxchange
- WWF-Australia
- Save the Children Australia/54 reasons
- Voice from the Heart Alliance
- Women’s Reconciliation Network
- Wynnum Manly Yes Group
- Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace
- Cohealth
- Consumers of Mental Health WA
- One World Centre
- Tearfund
- Australian Democracy Network
- NSW Teachers Federation
- Benarrawa Community Development Association
- SGS Economics and Planning
- Indigenous Eye Health Unit, The University of Melbourne
- Mission Australia
- Australian Volunteers International
See Croakey’s archive of articles on the Uluru Statement from the Heart
