The referendum loss does not mean that the national conversation about reconciliation has ended. Photo: Reconciliation Australia.
I had an extraordinary letter this week, predicated on the referendum vote, giving me a timeline before the writer would “out” Region for having a Reconciliation Action Plan.
“Over the coming months, my team will be following up publicly with businesses that remain actively partnered with Reconciliation Australia. I trust that by that time the appropriate decision will have been made to permanently terminate your current RAP,” it read.
The signature block implied the author was a Liberal Party candidate for a seat up the coast (without quite stating it explicitly). Minimal digging revealed he’d been disendorsed in March and expelled from the party after The Australian unearthed a slew of homophobic, racist, Islamophobic and anti-vaccination comments deemed “offensive and unacceptable” to the NSW Liberals, according to a party spokesperson.
Quite how this total stranger would publicly out Region for something we worked hard to produce, publicised widely and display on all our media platforms is a bit of a puzzle. In fact, I encourage you to read it.
So he can go his hardest. We’ll proudly stand by the RAP and the commitments we have made at Region to play our part on the reconciliation journey. I suspect that most other ACT businesses with RAPs, from Icon Water to Aspen Medical, will feel the same.
In the meantime, I’ve let the NSW Liberal Party division know this bloke is skating very close to the wind with the inference he’s still a candidate, or even a member.
And, really? Is this what comes next post-referendum? I’ve had some thoughtful and civil conversations with No voters after stating that I voted Yes for the Voice and constitutional recognition. I appreciate and value those conversations.
But this odd incident points up something that needs to be clear. The reconciliation journey is not over.
The referendum was about constitutional recognition and an advisory Voice to Parliament. Those are part of the larger national reconciliation movement.
The referendum loss does not mean the end of reconciliation. It means the majority of the Australian people, for a variety of reasons, did not agree with this particular proposed alteration to the Constitution.
The significant gap in outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens must still be addressed. Truths about our past must still be told, and a way to the future must still be found for us all, both nationally and locally.
Truly disturbing misinformation about the referendum and reconciliation must be combated. AAP’s independent fact-checking unit was retained by Meta (owner of Facebook) and found abundant examples of flat-out lies on social media.
These included the utterly bizarre claim the United Nations had given the Australian Government a mandate to remove private property rights but could not do so until all citizens were recognised in the Constitution. Apparently, Aboriginal people (who have, in fact, been citizens for decades) are keeping the nation “safe” from becoming a republic. There are also some very whacky misunderstandings about Torrens Title.
Go ahead and scratch your head at how convoluted and nonsensical that thinking is – some basic Civics education wouldn’t go astray either.
So, there is work to be done on reconciliation. Fair-minded and good-hearted Australians will continue to work for a better outcome for all Australians in the interests of equality and decency. This path didn’t work out, but there will be others.
In the meantime, let’s keep walking and working together.
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