The History
National Reconciliation Week continues a tradition that began in 1996, marking two significant anniversaries that bookend the week.
The first is the 1967 referendum when there was overwhelming majority support for Aboriginal people to be counted in the census and granted citizenship rights.
The second is the Mabo case of 1992, led by Eddie Koiki Mabo, when the High Court overturned the long-held legal fiction of terra nullius, and therefore introduced the principle of native title for all Indigenous people in the Australian legal system with the Native Title Act 1993.
Further information is available via the Reconciliation Australia website.
Now more than ever
Now more than ever, it is critical that NTEU is a culturally safe and welcoming space.
In 2002, the NTEU gubba caucus (the non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait caucus) adopted a 10 POINT PLAN FOR A POST-TREATY UNION.
During this week, NTEU would like to reshare and reaffirm the goals of this document that details our core commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members, people and their communities, and that seeks to address racism, discrimination, and inequalities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.