The Council for Reconciliation Act was passed by the federal parliament in 1991. This act made reconciliation the main goal leading into the 2001 century of Australian Federation. A council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established as a result, with 25 representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups as well as from industry, agriculture, the union movement, employers, the media and the major political parties.
HREOC efforts: The HREOC began a national inquiry in 1995, going into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report they then established summarised the rationale for the policy, its negative impacts and the continued feelings of grief and loss that individuals and communities experienced while trying to gain
some sense of identity. This report was tabled in federal parliament on 26thMay 1997 and recognised that many past governments had not recognised the Indigenous people’s rights. |
The main objective of creating the council was for all Australians to recognise and appreciate the original Aboriginal land owners. It was also to understand the ongoing social and economic suffering of the Aboriginal people as a result of their land being taken.
HREOC Recommendations:
· Formally apologise · Help the Indigenous people back to their families and regain their cultural identities · Publicly recognise past injustices through education National Sorry Day · Establish a national compensation fund Government responses: As a result of the HRECO’s report in December 1997, The Commonwealth Government pledged $63 million towards implementing the recommendations. |