The Age
March 2008
In the weeks since 13 February, I have been asked many times if I’ve “come down� from the high of that historic day and whether I think the momentum of possibility from the apology is being sustained.
Most encouraging to me was the response of Australian people everywhere who took part in the apology, and took pride in it. People allowed themselves to be moved.
In the weeks leading up to the apology Reconciliation Australia and our friends in all sectors had circulated background to the apology - recorded history, facts, dates and references and, of course, accounts from people directly affected by child removal policies.
And with a simple ad campaign developed for us pro bono by Saatchi&Saatchi, we encouraged Australians to be part of what was clearly going to be an important moment in our shared history as Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The campaign was supported by every major media organisation in the country.
It was never going to work for everyone, but my strong sense is that the majority of Australians feel better knowing that this necessary apology has been made. And they are motivated to build on this corner piece of the reconciliation puzzle that is now in place.
The apology has been a transformative experience for Australia and a fundamental step in building a respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens. Without that kind of relationship, we have never been in a position to work together in the way we’ve needed to.
In business and in sport, we recognise that respectful relationships, respectful dealings are a pre-requisite for the most basic level of success. The apology introduced that precious ingredient of respect to a relationship that often included good will and compassion but from which respect has been sorely missing, with dire consequences.
Now, at this moment in our national story, I see a real will to do things differently - to ensure our actions are the right ones to deliver meaningful, measurable results.
As we do with all governments, Reconciliation Australia is advising the new Australian Government that closing the life expectancy gap will require a long term, properly resourced national plan that has bipartisan commitment. The plan has to go well beyond combating violence and substance abuse to tackle all the many factors involved in turning abject policy failure into success.
Kevin Rudd’s Government is differentiating itself from its predecessors in several important ways. The Prime Minister and Jenny Macklin are conveying a strong message that they recognise the need for flexibility at the local level. So far, and I hope this honesty is maintained, they are rejecting the simplicity and relative low cost of the ‘one size fits all’, silver bullet approach - one that’s failed many times.
Instead, the new Government is emphasising the importance of two key approaches: basing policy on evidence of what works; and respectful engagement at all stages with the affected communities.
In the lead-up to the 2020 Summit, if we are to realise the post apology potential, people involved must keep in mind the lessons learned from past failure, as well as notable examples of success – in Australia and internationally.
Discussions at the summit should not re-invent the wheel in Indigenous affairs – there are many people who know what needs to be done to improve outcomes in critical policy areas such as education and health, and who understand why past policies have failed. The summit can be the venue for taking in the lessons of the past so we don’t, yet again, embark on new ways of doing things simply for the sake of newness.
All the groups at the summit – not solely the Indigenous affairs stream - should include Indigenous experts. There are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have a unique contribution to make in discussing Australia’s economic development, climate change, governance, infrastructure, health etc. Recognising and promoting the breadth of Indigenous expertise engenders respect as well as accommodating a more balanced and realistic perspective.
An interdisciplinary approach provides a rare platform to explore the links between policy areas: Australia’s economic development and Indigenous success are not mutually exclusive.
The two-day summit can’t address all areas of Indigenous affairs. It should target perhaps three, such as education, housing and attitudinal change, and focus on what needs to be done to make real progress in these areas.
The summit is designed to draw together the best and brightest from across all sectors. This level of talent needs to be deployed not only in shaping policy but also in implementing it. Too often good policy fails in bad implementation and consideration needs to be given to how summit participants can have input into policy implementation as well as policy creation.
We need to set targets and to hold ourselves accountable against them. That’s what we do in business – set targets and identify the best way to achieve them. Too few targets have been set in this area, by governments, by industry or by any of us. We’ve never had a real expectation or determination to get results.
What’s more, sound policy, sensibly implemented, will take time to yield results in this most complex area, and governments and the electorate will need to set aside our attraction to apparent quick-fixes.
Finally, I would say that the summit and our national, post-apology conversation must allow for different points of view to be heard from Indigenous Australians who, unlike non-Indigenous influencers, are expected to speak with one voice.
I understand this tendency. But I have learned that the inclination to tune into one Indigenous voice, and undermine or disregard its detractors, is another of the easy mistakes we’ve made throughout our shared history.
We are, in so many areas, a clever country – a country that can address the immediate crisis in Indigenous communities while we simultaneously work to achieve the longer term objective of closing the gap completely.
Now is the time, and I think Australia knows it.
Mark Leibler AC is Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia and senior partner in the legal firm Arnold Bloch Leibler.
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