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Earlier today, Reconciliation Australia released its State of Reconciliation in Australia report, the first update since 2000. The report identifies the achievements and setbacks of the Aboriginal reconciliation movement over time, and makes recommendations for its progress into the future. And while the highly detailed document confirms mechanisms for national reconciliation are in place, the real work is yet to begin.
Twenty-five years after the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the report takes a look at what has been achieved by the reconciliation movement so far, breaking things down into five interrelated categories: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.
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The data suggests a worrying discrepancy between the theory and practice of reconciliation. That is that while most Australians desire better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, we are not taking active steps to make things better. We’re all talk.
According to the report, 86 percent of us believe the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians is important. But the contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the wider community is low. Only 30 percent in fact. And only 26 percent of the general population believe that levels of trust between these populations is high.
Most Australians think that knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history is important, and support it being a compulsory part of the school curriculum. Yet knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, as is stands, is limited. Only 30 percent of us have had any education in these areas.
Facing ignorance and prejudice, it seems, is still an integral part of the Australian Indigenous experience. In fact, according to the report, 33 percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had experienced verbal racial abuse in the six months before they were surveyed.
That’s a sad statistic but it seems to just get worse from there. There is a huge gap between the lifestyle opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the rest of us. Indigenous communities are more likely to think that their living conditions worse than others, and are much more likely to face barriers to employment and education. Overall, they are also likely to feel less cultural security than their non-Indigenous counterparts, facing an uphill battle when it comes to trying to maintain their personal beliefs in the face of prejudice.
There are also recommendations as to how we can progress reconciliation into the next generation. The report emphasises the importance of maintaining the power of the current Racial Discrimination Act 1975, as well as state-based racial discrimination legislations. It calls on all Australian governments to recommit to the Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage framework, renewing investments and agreements to meet targets in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations. It also suggests that Australians take action to increase their knowledge and understanding of the issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the past and present.
While the State of Reconciliation in Australia Report remains optimistic—citing milestones like Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology to the stolen generation and the ongoing constitutional recognition campaign as signs of progress—it also makes clear that reconciliation in Australia is still a very theoretical thing. It needs to extend beyond formal processes and frameworks, and into real life. We can talk about our interest in learning about Aboriginal history and culture, in rebuilding trust, as much as we like, but it’s very much time to put ideas into action.
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