Reconciliation report calls for concrete steps beyond just raising awareness

The report calls for action to reduce the number of Indigenous people in prison, public anti-racism campaigns, and maintaining legal protections against racism.

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“Australian institutions must be more active in calling out and condemning all racism both at the individual and systemic levels, including any racism in our parliaments,” the report says.

Ms Mundine said there was greater support for reconciliation from the Australian people than ever before.

“There is a far greater awareness of the complexity and magnitude of First Nations cultures and knowledges, and many more Australians now understand and acknowledge the impacts that British colonialism and the modern Australian state have had on First Nations families and communities,” she said.

The report also calls for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to go ahead and welcomed the November 2019 agreement to expand the Closing The Gap targets in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“However, the principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must have a decisive
voice in matters that affect them— a cornerstone of the equality and equity dimension of
reconciliation— is far from being implemented across the board,” the report says.

Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt recently released a discussion paper about the design of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which will not have a veto on law-making but will be expected to consult on issues significantly affecting First Nations people.

Under the proposal, up to 35 local and regional Voices would form a robust system with a national Voice to allow Indigenous people to work in a true partnership with governments at all levels.

The discussion paper proposes a national Voice with 16 or 18 members be established, either as a statutory body or as a corporation with special powers. The government would be expected to provide appropriate funding to keep it running.

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Members would either be selected by or drawn from the local and regional Voices or existing Indigenous bodies, or directly elected. The former option drew the broadest support from the co-design panel, since having elected positions has historically led to significant disagreements within communities over voting eligibility.

The Reconciliation Australia report also calls for Indigenous education in schools, scholarship at university level and renaming of public places so Australians better understand their hidden history.

“Too often, our history covers up the brutal nature of colonisation, and leaves out the resilience and contribution by First Peoples,” the report says.