34 Years of Reconciliation in Australia

In 1991 the Australian Government launched the Reconciliation process and thirty-four years later, many Australians still ask – has anything changed?

On the surface we’ve seen some movement: widespread acknowledgement of country, growing awareness of Indigenous history and symbolic gestures embedded in public life… but scratch beneath that surface and the outcomes paint a very different picture.

“Mr Ticker specifically asked me to chair the National Committe of Reconciliation. He asked me to be the chairperson of it. And as I say I was forced to knock him back… I was pretty insulted by it (request) because anybody who knew anything about the position that I’d taken in relation to the reconciliation package would have known that I was totally opposed to it as a farce and a fraud.” – Gary Foley

Too often, reconciliation efforts are reduced to gestures like ceremonies without deeper engagement, artwork in boardrooms and Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) that look good on paper but lack measurable outcomes or accountability.

And this happens all the time, for example, when I was a Member of Telstra‘s Indigenous Advisory Committee.

As far as I was aware (from the meetings, emails, etc.) there was no concern from Reconciliation Australia about Telstra’s lack of progress / poor performance in reaching their RAP targets e.g. employment.

And there didn’t seem to be any concern about Telstra overcharging Aboriginal customers until it was in the media… and only then did Reconciliation Australia take action.

Which was probably the same thing that happened to Rio Tinto…

Or do we believe that Rio Tinto was an Angel and a true Reconciliation Leader before they blew up the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara…?

Superficial reconciliation initiatives (while well-intentioned) risk reinforcing the very systems they claim to challenge.

And when the actions stop at symbolism, they become tools of avoidance rather than transformation.

A RAP should be the beginning of a company’s responsibility – not the end of it.

Until then, reconciliation will remain a PR exercise – not a pathway to justice.