Marie McInerney writes:
Allies of the Uluru Statement from the Heart are being urged to make submissions to a Parliamentary inquiry into a bill to establish a Truth and Justice Commission, to ensure that structural First Nations reform remains on the Federal Government’s agenda.
The call comes as Queensland’s historic Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry is set to begin, marked on Monday (16 September) by a special Ceremonial Hearing held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. This will be followed by the first public hearings from 18 to 20 September, with thousands of Queenslanders expected to attend across the four days.
Inquiry Chairperson Joshua Creamer has invited Queenslanders to be “open to learning more about our state’s history and to approach the Inquiry with respect and curiosity”.
“The Inquiry will help us listen, share and collect evidence on a scale like never before, gaining a more accurate picture of how colonisation has impacted Aboriginal peoples, Torres Strait Islander peoples, and their families and communities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Uluru Dialogues co-chairs Professor Megan Davis and Pat Anderson have urged allies of the Uluru Statement From the Heart to make submissions to a Parliamentary inquiry into a Truth and Justice Commission Bill, which has extended the original closing date for submissions to 20 September.
In an email to supporters, Davis and Anderson say the inquiry is an opportunity for allies “to raise your voice and tell the government that you still support the Uluṟu Statement, and the ultimate position of Makarrata, that is, of a coming together between indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for a better future for all”.
However, like others, they warn that the lack of a representative Voice mechanism, after the defeat of last year’s referendum, means that moves towards both Truth and Treaty “will need to be done extra carefully, respectful of First Nations input and mindful of the power imbalances that still exist”.
More than 70 Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups and individuals – including only a handful from the health sector – have so far made submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs inquiry into the Bill, drafted by Western Australian Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a Yamatji Noongar woman.
They include the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, which warned that lack of support in the community and across political parties may risk truth telling “becoming once again a divisive rather than unifying process” and result in “further attacks against our peoples as we saw during the referendum”.
The need for cultural safety embedded in the truth telling process and for trauma-informed support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people giving and hearing evidence is emphasised in a number of submissions, some of which are summarised below.
The Productivity Commission’s submission notes that governments have specifically committed to truth telling under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and that a number had made representations to its 2024 review on progress that “truth-telling was indispensable” to them fulfilling their obligations.
Without Voice, Truth-telling must be done extra carefully
Professor Megan Davis and Pat Anderson
Davis and Anderson, who were co-architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, said the Senate inquiry provided an opportunity for allies “to raise your voice and tell the government that you still support the Uluṟu Statement, and the ultimate position of Makarrata, that is, of a coming together between indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for a better future for all”.
They encouraged allies to use the opportunity to tell politicians:
- That you still support the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart and Makarrata after the referendum
- That moves towards Treaty and Truth without Voice will need to be done extra carefully, respectful of First Nations input and mindful of the power imbalances that still exist.
Davis and Anderson said the Uluru Dialogue thinks the current Bill, drafted by the Greens, is moving in the right direction, but could be strengthened by addressing the following these issues:
- No express provision for First Nations appointees on the Commission
- A four-year reporting timeframe with no power to follow up, meaning it is likely to result in a single report (that can be ignored and join other royal commission reports) rather than an ongoing dialogue
- There is no inbuilt flexibility for the process to be locally responsive. Rather, it is set up in a highly formal, legalistic and technical way, a lot like a royal commission
- There is no provision for ownership of what comes out of the commission – whether it should be First Nations controlled.
“These are some of the issues with the Bill you may like to raise in your submission,” they told supporters, encouraging them also to add examples of truth-telling and dialogue on Aboriginal/Australian history in their own towns and regions and “to emphasise the importance of a Commission being bottom up rather than top down”.
“It is not common for Truth processes to be bottom up. By and large they are legalistic. There is no reason why Australia can’t innovate – inviting all Australians to participate in this process, being led by Australian voices, indigenous and non-indigenous,” they said.
Moral obligation to act also on Treaty
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
NACCHO has welcomesd the Bill, saying a national framework for truth-telling about colonisation, dispossession, and systemic racism will raise public awareness and understanding, and advance reconciliation, justice and healing.
A member of the Coalition of Peaks which has signed the National Agreement on Closing the Gap with Australian governments, NACCHO says a Truth and Justice Commission should be established in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and align with the Agreement’s Priority Reform Areas.
“In Australia, the need for truth telling is exacerbated by the absence of treaties and all which they entail,” it said.
As well as advocating for a Truth and Justice Commission, NACCHO urged the Federal Government to take lead in driving the Treaty process, saying it was currently leaving this up to the eight state and territory jurisdictions.
Not all jurisdictions will deliver an adequate response, and some Aboriginal nations straddle state and territory boundaries,” it said. “Moreover, the Commonwealth has a moral obligation to deliver a national treaty as first promised by the Hawke Government.”
“While truth telling can be independent of treaty processes, ideally, it should not be as truth telling establishes a common ground on which to establish a genuine treaty.’
Concerns about traumatic attacks
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress)
Congress said the aims of the Bill are consistent with the Uluru Statement, which it still fully supports; however the timing of the Inquiry is problematic, with Congress having only five weeks’ notice to respond.
“This does not give our Aboriginal Board, or our communities more generally, time to consider the issues at stake. This is particularly important given the difficult situation we face after the defeat of the Referendum,” it said.
Congress said that, however much it supports the establishment of the Truth and Justice Commission in principle, ”there are a number of weighty questions to consider regarding progressing with a process of Truth-telling at this time”:
- Given the defeat of the Voice, which would have had considerable cultural and legal authority to oversee the process of truth-telling, what guarantees can be made that the Commission’s workings will be trauma-informed and culturally safe for those community members who choose to participate?
- In the face of current public opinion which seems to be against a truth telling process even before the process begins, what assurances are there that any hearings will be conducted in an atmosphere of genuine reconciliation, rather than being used as opportunities for further attacks against our peoples as we saw during the Referendum?
- In light of the harmful effect of the opposition to the Voice Referendum from the Liberal Party, the National Party, and the Australian Greens, what support is there for the truth-telling process across the spectrum of political parties? Without cross party support, the truth telling process may risk becoming once again a divisive rather than unifying process.
Ensure meaningful change
National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance
The NATSIWA said that while it acknowledges the strengths of the Bill, it has identified several gaps that must be addressed to ensure the Commission’s effectiveness.
They include:
- Cultural Competency Training: The Bill should include mandatory cultural competency training for all Commission members and staff to maintain a culturally safe environment.
- Community Engagement: The Bill should establish clear mechanisms for ongoing consultation and engagement with First Nations communities throughout the Commission’s work.
- Support for Participants: The Bill should provide for psychosocial support, including counselling services, for individuals who participate in the Commission’s processes, particularly those recounting traumatic experiences.
- Gender Balance and Representation: The Bill should ensure not only a gender balance among Commission members but also that representation reflects the diversity of First Nations communities, including those from urban, regional, and remote areas, as well as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Implementation and Accountability: The Bill must outline how the Commission’s recommendations will be monitored and implemented by the government to ensure meaningful change.
- Resource Allocation: Adequate funding must be guaranteed to enable the Commission to fulfil its mandate effectively.
- Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance: Strengthened provisions are needed to ensure First Nations ownership, control, and governance over data collected during the inquiry.
- Additionally, the Bill should respect and incorporate Indigenous research methodologies, ensuring that all processes align with the principles of Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, it said.
NATSIWA said the Bill offers a vital opportunity for truth-telling, healing, and reconciliation. Addressing the gaps it has identified will mean the Commission “can become a powerful instrument of justice and a meaningful step towards redressing the profound injustices that have impacted our communities”, it said.
Be mindful of power imbalances without Voice
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), University of Queensland
Fredericks also warned that great care will need to be taken with Truth and Treaty processes to ensure respectful input of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the process “because there is no Voice mechanism”.
All processes carried out and or implemented will need to be mindful of the power imbalances and minimise these to ensure inclusion of as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as possible and gain the best outcomes, she said.
Fredericks said the process outlined in the Bill can be strengthened via a range of factors, including Indigenous appointees on the Commission, power to follow up on the issues raised, and in the report, and flexibility to be locally responsive.
Local responsiveness would “support what politicians and community members have repeatedly said government, institutions, universities, and community organisations should be doing: listening to and responding to communities,” she said.
“If not strengthened the process will be compromised, and result in poorer outcomes, and a missed opportunity for all Australians,” she said.
Time to face our shocking past
Dr Jill Gordon
Gordon, a non-Indigenous medical practitioner, opened her submission with personal and family experiences of exploitation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, saying they were the beginning of a “long journey of discovery about our shocking past”.
“The unfolding of our true history leaves me to ask why people of my generation were served lies upon lies in the classroom. It is not surprising that many Australians have never left those lies behind,” she said.
As a medical practitioner, Gordon said she has seen the deep harm that those lies have caused.
“Few people really understand what intergenerational trauma means. Few people really understand how sickness and early death have dogged Indigenous communities. Few people understand how malnutrition and alcohol and drug dependence were facilitated by white people,” she said.
“Undoing the damage done by those classroom lies requires new generations who have the opportunity to learn the truth, beginning in the classrooms of today.”
Gordon said truth-telling processes are vital in establishing processes of justice and greater self-determination for First Nations communities.
Keeping the promise
Dr Ed Wensing (Life Fellow) FPIA FHEA
Wensing, who has worked for decades in urban and regional policy and planning throughout Australia, said he had worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in every jurisdiction in Australia, with a particular focus on their intersections with Crown land administration, policy and planning.
Wensing said the Albanese Government pledged to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
“The creation of a national Truth and Justice Commission is an important step toward ensuring this commitment is not broken”, he said.
“There can be no justice for First Nations communities without laying a collective foundation of truth. A national truth-telling process would complement local community-led truth-telling, as well as support state and territory-led truth and treaty processes”
“A national Truth and Justice Commission can and should shine light on the strength of First Nations communities, culture, and connection to Country, and also address the more difficult questions of recompense for past injustices.”
Truth-telling important for needed reforms
Productivity Commission
The Productivity Commission said that, under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, all governments in Australia have committed to “building and strengthening structures that empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to share decision-making authority with governments”.
It said its 2024 review of government progress against their stated commitments under the National Agreement emphasises that fulfilling this commitment “requires acknowledging and addressing the ways in which past government policies have impacted outcomes and undermined trust with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
“This is a crucial step in rectifying historical power imbalances and aligning decision-making authority with the commitments governments have made in response to the Review’s recommendations,” it said.
“Truth-telling is key to this process and is a promise governments have specifically committed to under the National Agreement,” it said, noting that a number of governments had made representations to it during the review that “truth-telling was indispensable” to them fulfilling their obligations under the Agreement.
Recognising that truth-telling “must be designed and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and centre their experiences, resilience, knowledge and stories”, the Commission’s submission highlights findings from the review “which articulate the value of truth-telling”.
“Truth-telling can play a role in transforming government and supporting the aspirations and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” it said.
Register here to join the #CroakeyLIVE webinar on #VoiceMatters, 16 September, from 5-6pm AEST.
