25 years on from the Walk for Reconciliation, were the hopes of that historic day realised?

SBS Australia

29-05-2025

It was one of the largest demonstrations in the country's history, but some have questioned what concrete gains were made. Credit: John van Hasselt - Corbis/Sygma via Getty Images On 28 May 2000, an estimated 250,000 people walked across the bridge as part of Corroboree 2000. Organised by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the two-day event brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to reflect on reconciliation and express public support for First Nations peoples. The walk became one of the most widely covered public demonstrations in Australian history.
Unfinished Business - Corroboree 2000 Similar events were held in Brisbane, Adelaide and other cities, with tens of thousands participating across the country. Karen Mundine, now CEO of Reconciliation Australia, says she remembers the sense of momentum on the day. "To see the hundreds of people in the trains, heading across the bridge and starting to walk, to hear the chatter, to see the flags, to see that bridge fill up with people, was really exciting," she told Living Black. At the time, the event was seen by many as a hopeful moment in the reconciliation movement. But for some of those closely involved, it also exposed the gap between public sentiment and political follow-through.
Patrick Dodson, chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 2000, relfected that 'politicians were out of step with the public", as the energy of the weekend was not followed by substantial structural reform. That tension was visible during the official proceedings at the Sydney Opera House. Then-Prime Minister John Howard, who had previously declined to apologise to the Stolen Generations, addressed the audience.
His speech was met with protest, and his comments on land rights prompted a pointed response from Dodson: 'There will never be social justice in this country without equity.' Corroboree 2000 marked the culmination of a decade of significant developments in Indigenous affairs. Despite this momentum, the years following the walk saw a shift in policy direction. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was disbanded in 2005, and the federal government adopted a 'practical reconciliation' model focused on service delivery, rather than legal or constitutional reform. Many of the issues identified in that period remain today. Gaps in health, housing, education, and incarceration persist. In some areas, they have deepened. 'There has to be a national process of truth telling," Linda Burney told Living Black's Karla Grant. "I'm not saying it has to be now, I'm not saying it has to be tomorrow. It should not be scripted. It should not be initiated by government.'
The statement reflected ongoing caution—but also highlighted the lack of clarity around what such a process might look like, or when it might begin. Former Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt told Living Black that responsibility and leadership must often come from within community: 'I think if we take the lead as Aboriginal people with all of the organisations that are committed, then you don't need governments. Governments will commit, but it depends on how strongly they commit and what they're prepared to commit. And it doesn't matter which government is in.' Reflecting on the state of reconciliation today, Professor Tom Calma said to Karla Grant: 'Some people said, 'Reconciliation is dead,' but that's far from being true.' Twenty-five years after the bridge walk, Corroboree 2000 continues to be remembered—but it also raises a clear question: how can symbolic events be transformed into long-term, structural change? Watch now
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