A statement of support from Sydney Gay & Lesbian community organisations Preamble The Australian Reconciliation Convention will be held in Melbourne in May 1997. Extraordinary attacks are being directed at the Reconciliation process from all sectors of the Australian community. Representatives from several
of Sydney's lesbian and gay community organisations met recently to discuss
the Aboriginal Reconciliation process. We agreed that it was time for us
to issue a statement in support of the Reconciliation process to present
to the Reconciliation Convention. This statement is intended to be
the beginning of a wider debate about the Reconciliation process in the
lesbian and gay community.
Statement of Support We affirm the essential nature of the Reconciliation process to the development of a truly civil society in Australia, which values diversity and the contribution of all its citizens,both now and into the future. We are proud to live in a
nation with the oldest indigenous peoples in the world. We believe that
non-indigenous Australians have a great deal to gain from Reconciliation
by coming to terms with our collective past and valuing Aboriginal culture
and history.
We believe that Reconciliation is everyone's responsibility. True Reconciliation will not be achieved through a one-sided process in which indigenous people are expected to give way to others' interests and give up their rights in the interests of national 'harmony'. Non-indigenous Australians must acknowledge that Aboriginal people's human rights have been systematically eroded over the last 200 years. We believe that genuine Reconciliation will only be achieved when we acknowledge the truth about the often brutal nature of European settlement, acknowledge that it was an invasion resulting in the dispossession of Aboriginal people. This dispossession continues today through discrimination, disinheritance and the devastation resulting from past assimilation policies. We must be prepared to listen to Aboriginal people's points of view. We must recognise the special relationship that indigenous Australians have to the land; their grief occasioned by theft of their land and forced removals from their families. We must acknowledge the central nature of land rights to Aboriginal people's self-esteem. We oppose any explicit or implicit extinguishment of native title and the removal of the right to negotiate on land use. This is a form of discrimination against Aboriginal people: it removes rights from them which will continue to be held by all other title-holders. We believe that human rights
are inalienable and indivisible and that the human rights of all Australians
must be protected from extinguishment for reasons of convenience or certainty. We oppose any watering down of the Racial Discrimination Act. The Australia Day national holiday falls on 26 January, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet and the beginnings of colonisation and dispossession. It is an impediment to the realisation of Reconciliation because Aboriginal people are excluded from celebrating national unity with other Australians. We believe that the holiday should be moved to another day of the year. What has all this got to do with the lesbian and gay community? Lesbians and gay men have been, and continue to be, on the receiving end of hatred and discrimination. We oppose all forms of bigotry and injustice and recognise the connections between them. Racism and the Reconciliation process are very much our business as there are gays and lesbians in all sectors of the community and all population groups, including the indigenous community. We acknowledge that racism exists within the lesbian and gay community and that indigenous gays and lesbians often feel alienated and unsupported by our community. We intend to work actively
to change this by addressing Aboriginal issues and promoting indigenous
visibility and leadership, by fostering debate and by developing Reconciliation
strategies and responses within the lesbian and gay community.
Coordinator, Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project Stevie Clayton, Simon Lloyd
Lynne O'Brien, Stephen Auburn
Ross Bennett
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Lesbians on the Loose Gaywaves Sydney Star Observer Town and Country MIA Gay and Lesbian Support Group Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir The Feminist Bookshop Sydney Gay Games 2002
If your organisation wishes
to become a signatory to this statement contact Black, White + Pink on
(02) 9360 6687
Mick Dodson's remarks at the launch of Black + White + Pink indigenous anti-homophobia campaign and this statement More about the launch |
