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Reconciliation Week 2005 |
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Thursday 26 May
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QUT staff and students, their friends and families were invited to join
us on Saturday 28 May to mark National Sorry Day's Walk for Healing from
Roma Street Forum to Musgrave Park, South Brisbane for a family day featuring
Indigenous dance, art and song.
The Equity Section, the Oodgeroo Unit and QUT’s Student Guild invited
staff and students to grab their lunch and picnic on the forecourt of
A Block on Kelvin Grove campus and show their support for Reconciliation
by ‘signing’ the ‘Walking together; Working together’
canvas, planting a hand in the ‘Sea of Hands’ or signing a
Stolen Wages petition. The Wagga Torres Strait Islander dancers (see below)
shared the songs and dances of the Western Torres Strait Island of Moa,
and Black Velvet sang the afternoon away.
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ANTaR ( Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) is helping Indigenous Queensland workers fight for justice through its Stolen Wages campaign. Thousands of Aboriginal workers across several generations lost an estimated $500 million because of the Queensland Governments' negligence, through diverting withheld wages to raise government revenue, and through misuse of Trust monies.
The Queensland Government has made an offer of $55 million as settlement, but this is only a tiny fraction of the "stolen wages" and former workers have declared the offer inadequate. The current offer will close at the end of 2005.
So, act now to help achieve justice for the affected Indigenous workers.
A fact sheet, news articles and campaign resources are available at
http://www.antar.org.au (National) or ANTaR Queensland branch http://antar.dovenetq.net.au
Staff and students were invited to show their support for Reconciliation by signing the Indigenous Health Rights Statement and ‘planting a hand’ for Reconciliation. QUT’s Student Guild provided a BBQ and the Noonuccal Dancers from North Stradbroke Island shared their stories through dance with the lunchtime crowds (see below).
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Healing Hands Indigenous Health Rights Campaign is a new initiative by
ANTaR and led by a group of eminent Indigenous Australians advising ANTaR,
including Patrick Dodson, Prof. Lowitja O'Donohue and Dr. Bill Jonas.
The campaign aims to help turn the tide of the worsening crisis in Indigenous
Health in Australia, and to refocus Indigenous issues on the national
political agenda. A focus of the campaign is the Indigenous Health Rights
Statement which you can sign to show your support for urgent action on
the health crisis. The website also contains a library of downloadable
resources about Indigenous health, the campaign and what YOU can do to
help turn things around. For more information go to http://www.antar.org.au
On 3 June 1992 the High Court of Australia handed down its judgement
on the Mabo Native Title case. Eddie Mabo was from Mer, one of the Murray
Islands in the Torres Strait, off the coast of Northern Australia. He
argued in the High Court that Murray Islanders' rights to their land were
not extinguished by the annexation of the islands by the State of Queensland,
or by subsequent Queensland or Federal Government legislation. The High
Court agreed with this view. The idea of 'terra nullius' - that Australia
had been empty of people when settled by the British - was abandoned.
The ruling recognised the prior occupation of the land by Indigenous peoples.
For more information on Mabo and Native Title go to http://www.antar.org.au
(National) or ANTaR Queensland branch http://antar.dovenetq.net.au
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The Equity Section invited staff and students
to join Heron Loban (pictured left) for a timely update
on the issues surrounding land rights and, the more recent focus
on, the sovereignty of the sea. Heron also discussed how these
Native Title rights are integral to Heron Loban is a solicitor and her family are from Mabuiag and Boigu Islands. She identifies one of her greatest career highlights as representing the Mabuiag people in the successful recognition of their Native Title. |
For more information on sea rights go to:
Torres Strait Regional Authority at www.tsra.gov.au
Northern Lands Council at www.nlc.org.au
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
at www.aiatsis.gov.au
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Following Heron's address, academic, professional and research staff were invited to stay for the Implementing Reconciliation workshop with Equity Coordinatior, Mary Kelly, and QUT’s Indigenous Employment and Career Development Advisor, Sandra Phillips, (both pictured right) to look at how QUT is turning the words in its Reconciliation Statement into actions. For more information on QUT's Indigenous Australian Employment and Career Development Strategy go to www.hrd.qut.edu.au/conditionbenefit/ies/ or contact the Indigenous Employment and Career Development Advisor directly by emailing indigenousemployment@qut.edu.au. |
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Throughout
Reconciliation Week a three-storey banner (pictured left)
near the QUT entrance to the Goodwill Bridge invited staff, students
and passers-by to get involved in National Reconciliation Week.
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