Today I want to talk about a peace treaty or Peacebuilding in Australia. What it involves, what’s being done in this space already & how we can all contribute:
Transitional justice is a process whereby we see legislative and non- legislative measures established to redress harm

This can include but is not limited to; truth & (dirty word) reconciliation, institutional reform, memorialisation, Peacebuilding and reparations/compensation! The impact of colonisation has had (and continues to have) devastating outcomes for Aboriginal people in this country.

We see the devastation in rural, regional and urban Aboriginal communities. The main problem is the constant control over the lives of Aboriginal people, which is something the gvt sure as shit isn’t willing to give back to Aboriginal communities. This has been evident...

In the cashless debit card system. The issues with such systems is it controls the $$ spent by Aboriginal people. The local supermarkets inflate prices, the shame around using this card is damaging enough but without it, some Aboriginal families face further poverty. This is ...

Just a small snippet of issues. We have seen the NT intervention & overpolicing of Aboriginal communities, the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) - twice under the Howard gvt, all continuing the constant ‘need’ to control & ‘protect’ Aboriginal people!

So where to from here? Our prison population make up almost a third (Australia wide) of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, our young ones are being targeted by police, we have seen more deaths in custody over the last 10yrs compared to the lead up to the RCIADIC

We know these issues of overrepresentation exist but how do we address the issues? There has been much work go in to Treaty in Victoria & the Uluru Statement - despite the arguments, these initiatives will be imperative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

I say this for a few reasons. Personally, I’d love to see a peace treaty established in this country where governments cannot simply amend an Act to pass racist legislation. It will take time & there is no quick answer - nor should there be. Partnership must come from bottom up

It has been for too long that programs or initiatives that have been established to improve outcomes for Aboriginal communities have been from a top down approach. It simply does not work. There is no self-determination & Aboriginal communities are expected to fix a problem that

Was created by non-Indigenous people in government (top-down)! Bringing it back to transitional justice - we see truth telling happening in some communities, we see memorialisation through sharing the trauma & history of the massacres that occurred, coming together as a community

On the anniversaries of massacres, the Frontier Wars where countless Aboriginal women, children & men were murdered. All of these uncomfortable conversations are being held on grassroots levels. There is much healing to be done and peace to be restored.

Australia was built on racist assumptions & racist legislation - it is time to turn that around & celebrate Aboriginal culture. Not bring it out like silverware once or twice a year! It is work that must be done every single day of every single year!

I personally have a problem with the word reconciliation - first and foremost, it has been expected that Aboriginal people are the ones to begin & maintain this ‘process’. & Why? Aboriginal people have nothing to reconcile! The massacres, genocide etc were done by white people

Why is it - again, up to Aboriginal people to fix the white problem? The over reliance & constant blaming of Aboriginal people for the polices, practices & legislation that impacts the lives of Aboriginal were not made by Aboriginal people - the decision making was by white men

There is Zero accountability when lives are lost, further poverty, failed practices/policies when undertaken by govt. We have no more time left to let racist polices and legislation continue the way it has for 230yrs.