Emma Garlett: As Reconciliation Week nears, I'm optimistic for our future
National Reconciliation Week is approaching and we have plenty of work ahead of us.
Many of us are still hurting from the failed Voice to Parliament referendum.
But the theme of this year's Reconciliation Week, Bridging Now to Next, is an acknowledgement that now is the time to embrace new opportunities, while also recognising the unbreakable connection between events of the past, and our present and future.
Labor's re-election offers Anthony Albanese another chance to follow through on his so far-unfulfilled commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
Last term, Albanese followed through with his promise to take the Voice to a referendum. It failed.
But the Voice is only one part of the Uluru Statement, The other pillars — truth and treaty — can still be achieved.
The defeat of the Voice was a blow. But, I like to take a glass-half full approach.
Forty per cent of Australians voted Yes. And many of those who voted No do support reconciliation, but had reservations about how a Voice would operate. There is still plenty of support for improving the lives of First Nations Australians.
You wouldn't have known it during the election however. Indigenous affairs were completely off the radar.
With Labor back in power with a resounding majority, it's up to Albanese to put it back at the heart of his Government.
There's plenty for WA to do too. We're not generally known as the most progressive State, but I see reason for hope in Roger Cook and his Government's support of the Wadjemup (Rottnest Island) truth-telling project.
WA should be a leader, not a laggard.
We could do this by amending our State Constitution to include an enabling power for affirmative action for First Nations peoples — not just an acknowledgement in the preamble but in the body of the document itself.
Next year is Albany's bicentenary, before Perth reaches the milestone in 2029. Let's put First Nations people front and centre of these events to tell the history and our stories.
We could even have a statutory Voice to Parliament, as has been done in South Australia.
Change is generational. And the next generation, which has received education in schools about Aboriginal history, is in a great position.
And with many of us who are already in the workforce receiving cultural awareness training in our jobs, the rest of us are making progress too.
Education is key to eradicating ignorance. It helps us recognise the negative stereotypes and unconscious bias that has become entrenched in our society for generations. We need to be able to see these things to fight against them.
We have a long way to go. The events that darkened this year's Anzac Day commemorations, when a small few interrupted Welcome to Country ceremonies, is evidence of that.
We are so privileged to live in Australia, a nation with a rich Indigenous history, home to more than 250 language groups, each with their own unique culture and stories.
Let's embrace that gift and work towards a reconciled Australia.
Emma Garlett is a legal academic and Nyiyaparli-Yamatji-Nyungar woman
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