Saturday, June 01, 2019

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a "gift to the nation"

Julie Power

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a "gift to the nation" to build a bridge "between an ancient past and a hopeful future", said Catherine Hunter, a partner with KPMG.

KPMG is one of 14 organisations who have accepted the Uluru statement's invitation to walk the path to reconciliation with First Nations' peoples. On Wednesday, a coalition of companies, organisations and universities will throw their support behind the Uluru Statement and its call for a referendum to enable constitutional reform.

14 top organisations have released a video to publicise their support of the Uluru Statement and its call for a referendum to enable constitutional reform.

Representing BHP, Libby Ferrari, manager of Indigenous affairs, said the company stood "side by side" in support of the call for a shared future.

"We've not always got this right in our history, but we know clearly that strong relationships, centred on listening and respect, get the best outcomes for everyone," she said.

Top organisations have thrown their support behind the Uluru statement of the heart.

The 14 companies, which issued the ‘Response to the Uluru Statement’, included BHP, Curtin University, Herbert Smith Freehills, IAG, KPMG, Lendlease, National Rugby League, PwC Australia, PwC’s Indigenous Consulting, Qantas, Richmond Football Club, Rio Tinto, Swinburne University of Technology and Woodside.

Many, like IAG's managing director Peter Harmer, saw it as a chance to bring about positive change to support and empower First Nations peoples.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said corporate Australia had a leadership role to play. And the coalition of 14 also urged other companies and organisations to follow suit.

In a formal response, the group says it has "heard the call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution and for a referendum ... " And it acknowledged the call for a makarrata commission to supervise an agreement making between governments and First Nations and "truth telling about our history".

Artists work on the Uluru statement

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A makarrata means treaty, but the Yolgnu word from the Northern Territory also embodies a process of resolving conflict, making peace and achieving justice.

In the spirit of reconciliation, the group said it would support Indigenous Australians to develop specific proposals in relation to "Voice, Treaty and Truth".

Peter Beattie, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, said the league had a long and strong relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He was looking forward to walking with First Nations' peoples towards a constitutionally enshrined voice in Parliament.

Richmond Football Club chief executive Brendon Gale, CEO, said a commitment to the future had to be based on an "acknowledgment of the past".

The historic consensus reached at Uluru in 2017 was a "major milestone in the journey towards achieving constitutional reform," said Brooke Massender, global head of pro bono with Herbert Smith Freehills.

Karen Mundine, CEO of Reconciliation Australia, said their research showed "an overwhelming majority of Australians support the aspirations within the Uluru Statement from the Heart".

She said the statement from the companies - who have all achieved the highest level of endorsement for their work towards reconciliation - would help "build momentum towards genuine reconciliation”.

Aboriginal leader and Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson AO said the Uluru Statement from the Heart was issued as an invitation to the Australian public to walk with us.

“It is significant that the leadership of corporate Australia has accepted our invitation," she said.

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