Support the Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry
ANTaR Qld and other community groups are writing letters in support of the Truth Telling Inquiry to members of the Queensland Parliament and to candidates for the coming election.
We are also encouraging everyone to contact their friends and acquaintances to send their own individual letters to their local MPs and candidates.
If you are looking for ideas for your letter, here is a copy of the letter we are about to post:
Letter to MPs and Candidates
We are writing as Queensland groups calling on you to ensure that the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry can continue for its full term.
After 200 years, First Nations (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) people from Queensland are finally able to have their stories formally listened to, witnessed, shared, recognised and validated. They will have the chance to speak about their family’s experiences of colonization and the truth of our shared history.
The Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry has commenced, under legislation passed in 2023 with bipartisan support, taking evidence from people across the State.
Despite multi-party support in 2023, however, the Liberal National Party has stated that it plans to eliminate the Inquiry if it wins government at the state election on 26 October.
This is incredibly disappointing for First Nations’ peoples and for all those in Queensland who understand the importance of knowing our history. We have a rich history that is at times very difficult. Better understanding of our history, in all its aspects, provides a much stronger basis for good government policy and actions in the present and in the future. We cannot move forward together when we don’t know why many things are the way they are.
As the inquiry chair, Mr Joshua Creamer, made clear, the inquiry is not about division, but about bringing people together. The point of coming to terms with our shared history is not to divide us but to move away from destructive cycles of violence and trauma and to live well together. “For generations of people, there’s been a desire to do things differently,” he said. “It would have a significant impact on the community to not let this process occur.”
Mr David Crisafulli has called for Queensland victims of crime to be a priority, not an afterthought. Queensland’s Police Commissioner, Mr Steve Gollschewski, pointed out at a recent Inquiry hearing that in the past police “took actions that we would not tolerate in any shape or form in current society”. We know the importance of recognising the pain, hurt and loss of victims of crime or great injustice, whether that crime or injustice is recent or happened in the often not so distant past. We need to extend this recognition to those First Nations’ members of the community who suffered under previous governments and state-supported institutions.
Truth-telling is a fundamental path to healing and justice for First Nations’ peoples and to moving towards a more unified Queensland community, confident in our own history, present and future. Rejection of the Voice should not be taken to mean that we as Queenslanders do not want and need to know more of our own history.
We call on all Parliamentarians to respect our history and help to heal the pain and injustice born by so many First Nations’ people. In particular, we call on all Parliamentarians to support the fundamentally important work of the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry by enabling it to continue fully.
Yours sincerely
………..
ANTaR Queensland’s post referendum Statement
The loss of the Voice referendum has brought deep grief and disappointment to many people, particularly many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We consider that it is the loss of a rare opportunity to transform the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples at a structural level, to move closer to the broader Australian society fully recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Peoples, and to embrace a more democratic, inclusive form of political life.
The referendum made it very clear how much work there is to do. But it also underlined that there are many people who support recognition, justice and self-determination for First Peoples.
We all need to pursue these goals more actively and together!
Please join or support an organisation, whether ANTaR Qld, ANTaR National, a local reconciliation organisation, a local neighbourhood centre with relevant activities or another like-minded group.
Please read the statements below by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders supporting Yes, ANTaR national, the Northern Land Councils and Thomas Mayo.
Join Us, Renew your membership, support our work.
ANTaR Queensland poured a lot of energy into supporting the Yes campaign, through Mob23 and Yes23 and through collaborating with other organisations like Reconciliation Queensland and PIEEC. We will now be working even harder to pursue our over-arching goals of justice, rights, recognition and self-determination for First Peoples. We will work with other like-minded Indigenous and solidarity organisations, communities and individuals to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led goals and strategies and help inform the wider Queensland community, and we will deepen our own advocacy and understanding and continue to build the respectful relationships which enables community change. And do this via our various Focus areas:
- Let’s Chat and Yarning Circles, for truth-telling and sharing, together with other groups
- Community Engagement including funeral support in collaboration with other groups
- Advocacy and working with community groups in regard to Indigenous incarceration and child detention
- Supporting the Queensland Treaty process
- What’s On via our Facebook page
- Sea of Hands
In Queensland, the referendum loss has encouraged the LNP to withdraw support from the Path to Treaty process. This is worrying. We are concerned that in both state and national politics, Indigenous issues could become a weapon in a new round of culture wars and misinformation, up to elections and beyond. This benefits no-one.
We are also aware that our Murri friends, family and colleagues are facing an upsurge of racist actions.
Both these developments highlight the need for non-Indigenous people to build respectful everyday relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our neighbourhoods, schools or workplaces and in small, normal, non-intrusive ways show that we value them. We can all play a role in changing and countering destructive community attitudes and practices and we can reach out of our comfort zone to do this.
Post Referendum Statements:
Statement for Our People and Country, by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, organisations and communities who supported Yes.
Northern Land Councils’ Statement
ANTaR National Statement
https://antar.org.au/antar-statement-on-the-referendum-outcome/
Thomas Mayo’s post referendum artilcle. In the Saturday paper, if you subscribe:
Check out the ANTaR Qld Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AntarQld/
Statement by the Interim Truth and Treaty Body
We see the Voice as a step towards Treaty and Truth and towards full recognition and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We support Voice as a mechanism to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concerns and problem-solving to Government and Parliament.
We support respectful spaces for yarning and dialogue that allows different views and understandings.
We accept that Voice is not recognition of First Nations’ sovereignty but consider it could evolve into the basis for such recognition – if we all make it happen.
The Voice referendum represents a significant step towards realising the aspirations outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Its purpose is to amend the constitution to acknowledge and celebrate the rights, history, and ongoing relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to the land. The constitutional change will establish a ‘Voice to Parliament’, an independent advisory body that would provide guidance on laws and policies affecting First Nations communities to government and Parliament.
How will it work?
If the referendum is successful, a thorough consultation process will be held to determine how the Voice will work. The goal is to represent community concerns and solutions to problems to government and so shape and improve policies. This inclusive approach ensures that the design incorporates collective input and addresses the concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community. By deferring the detailed consultation until after obtaining public endorsement for recognising First Nations in the constitution, the focus remains on achieving widespread support for this crucial step.
Establishing the Voice presents an exceptional opportunity to foster recognition, empowerment, and reconciliation for the First Peoples of Australia. It signifies a commitment to addressing historical injustices and creating a more inclusive and equitable society for present and future generations. ANTaR QLD is actively working to promote the Voice to Parliament, advocating for the recognition and inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres voices in decision-making processes. We organise and support community yarning circles to engage in conversations about the Voice to Parliament and its significance. For more detailed information, please visit our Facebook page for updates or become a member of ANTaR Qld and receive our Newletter.
For Coming Events related to the Voice to Parliament go to our Coming Events page
Useful resources about the Voice
- A must see short documentary video on Vimeo by Blackfella Films: Uluru Statement from the Heart Background
- ANTaR National Site: https://antar.org.au/issues/voice/
- YES 23 campaign: https://yes23.com.au
- Garma Festival Welcome Speech by Mr Djawa Yunupingu. A Rich and powerful speech, on YouTube https://youtu.be/nZla4nLvm1g
- Noel Pearson speech on Voice to Parliament, Garma Festival Aug 2023 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xVh5IGo_Nk4
- Official Government Website: https://voice.gov.au/
- Reconciliation Australia: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/support-a-voice-to-parliament/
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/19/what-is-the-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-question-wording-vote-australia-constitution-change-details-how-would-it-work-what-does-it-mean-explainer
- Plain Text: The Uluru Statement from the Heart – Text only
- Study Guide: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Study-Guide-Final-Uluru-Statement-From-the-Heart.pdf
- A GUIDE TO CHANGING THE STORY ON SELF-DETERMINATION A really good site https://passingthemessagestick.org/
