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Media Release

May 6, 2005

Sure steps on the path to Reconciliation

Reconciliation: take the next step – A Public Forum


It was just five years ago that hundreds of thousands of Australians took an important walk. Across Sydney Harbour Bridge and through the streets of every capital city in the nation, Australians, black and white, walked together to signal that the time for healing had come.

It was a 'high hope' point. In that year a survey of young South Australians from 13 to 21 years old showed 70 per cent believed reconciliation was a major priority. Today the issue has been swept off the agenda.

So what is the next step for reconciliation in Australia?

UniSA’s Hawke Centre in conjunction with Reconciliation SA Inc and Journey of Healing is proud to present two leading Australian figures to discuss where reconciliation is heading and why the issue needs to be back at centre stage. Elliott Johnston, QC AO co-patron of Reconciliation SA and Doris Pilkington - Nugi Garimara, co-patron of Journey of Healing will speak at the Adelaide Town Hall on Wednesday May 11 2005 from 5.30 pm.

Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and former Justice of the Supreme Court of SA, Elliott Johnston says it is vital that we understand that Indigenous people still on the whole have a second rate position in Australian society.

“After a great deal of effort, publicity, research and discussion, the place of Aboriginal people in Australian society has not significantly improved.” Johnston says.

“The tremendous task we have before us as non-Indigenous people is to build the path to reconciliation and that is definitely our responsibility.”

Winner of the David Unaipon award with her first book, Caprice: A Stockman’s Daughter, Doris Pilkington reached international audiences with her 1996 book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence which has been made into one of the most powerful modern films about the stolen generation. Pilkington was forcibly removed from her mother, who was herself a 'stolen child'. Through her writing she has communicated the trauma and hurt felt by the stolen generations to audiences in Australia and around the world.

Pilkington says she wants to emphasise the importance of Sorry Day on May 26 as an opportunity for national healing.

“Saying sorry, feeling sorrow has nothing to do with admitting guilt,” Pilkington says. “It is a feeling that comes from the heart; it is the voice of human conscience identifying past wrongs and the sadness they have caused.

“In the progress towards reconciliation we need more and more people to mark this day – to share their understanding of what it is like to be removed from family.

“There are many non-Indigenous Australians who have suffered similar trauma. We need to tap into a wider understanding of this kind of experience – to help map commonalities and through shared experiences, build reconciliation. Indigenous people and indeed most Australians have a resilient character. While it may seem like we have been standing still, reconciliation is still a goal and one we believe we can reach.”

People attending the public lecture are asked to make a gold coin donation. Proceeds will go to Reconciliation SA. Bookings can be made online at www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au or at the Hawke Centre RSVP line on (08) 8302 0215.

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