Earlier this month we marked the fifth anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. The Apology was adopted by the Parliament on the motion of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and supported by the Leader of the Opposition Brendan Nelson. Their successors spoke well when passing the largely symbolic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said 'on this special anniversary we acknowledge the courage that enabled Kevin Rudd to offer the Apology and the generosity of spirit that enabled Indigenous Australians to accept it'. She spoke of the Constitution as 'a foundation document (which) is more than just a set of rules and procedures':
It can articulate a nation's sense of itself. But our nation cannot articulate such a sense of self when there are still great unanswered questions in our midst. How do we share this land and on what terms? How adequate are our national laws and symbols to express our history and hopes for the future? No gesture speaks more deeply to the healing of our nation's fabric than amending our nation's founding charter.
With a real show of bipartisanship, Tony Abbott complimented Gillard on her 'fine speech' and without any fanfare proceeded to put to rest the Howard critique of the 'black armband view' of history. He told Parliament:
Australia is a blessed country. Our climate, our land, our people, our institutions rightly make us the envy of the earth, except for one thing — we have never fully made peace with the First Australians.
This is the stain on our soul that Prime Minister Keating so movingly evoked at Redfern 21 years ago. We have to acknowledge that pre-1788 this land was as Aboriginal then as it is Australian now. Until we have acknowledged that we will be an incomplete nation and a torn people.
We only have to look across the Tasman to see how it could have been done so much better. Thanks to the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand two peoples became one nation.
So our challenge is to do now what should have been done 200 or 100 years ago to acknowledge Aboriginal people in our country's foundation document. In short, we need to atone for the omissions and for the hardness of heart of our forebears to enable us all to embrace the future as a united people.
Let's not underestimate the significance of Howard's successor giving credit to Keating for his Redfern speech, before then invoking the Treaty of Waitangi and calling for atonement.
A new generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders were gathered in the public gallery for the passage of the legislation. Together with them were many of the leaders from earlier campaigns over the Northern Territory land rights legislation, Mabo, Wik, native title and reconciliation.
They then proceeded to the National Press Club which was packed to the rafters with supporters. The two speakers were two of the up-and-coming Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders Tanya Hosch and Jason Glanville. Each spoke proudly of their diverse heritage.
I realised one of the benefits of the National Apology has been that Australians with a mixed heritage are now proud to proclaim it and share its benefits with the community at large. Hosch told the Press Club:
I was blessed to be raised in a family that is a model for the kind of nation I want Australia to be. A family where race isn't a divide, but an enricher ... that is proud of the many strands of its heritage, and particularly of our Indigenous heritage ... that integrates the best of all of our traditions and cultures, and which has nurtured me to play a part in bringing about this big moment in the life of our nation.
Glanville told the story of his great grandmother leaving the mission with her two year old child and coming to Cootamundra and building a home. He told us:
In the Cootamundra Town Hall, where once my great grandmother was barred from being able to vote, a stained glass window now hangs. It's a picture story. In it, she is telling bedtime stories to her grandchildren in the language of their ancestors. The town that once excluded this amazing Aboriginal woman has now immortalised her remarkable story. At long last, it has recognised her, and regards her story as a source of pride. It's time our Constitution did too.
I was privileged to sit at table with many erstwhile campaigners like Lowitja O'Donoghue, Pat Turner and Jackie Huggins. But alas, Karen Middleton was the only serving journalist from the Press Gallery to join the press gallery committee in asking questions. Later in the week, I was dining with some of the gallery and I quizzed them about their absence. They told me there was not the same interest in Indigenous affairs nowadays.
There is plenty of work to be done if the referendum is to get up in the next parliamentary term. In the wake of the National Apology, there is a new generation of Indigenous Australians able to show us the way. Hopefully our elected leaders will be aboard.
Abbott told Parliament: 'I believe we are equal to this task of completing our Constitution rather than changing it.' Hopefully there will be unanimity about what constitutes completion, and there will be patience and respect shown as we discuss what changes might be put off for another time.
Fr Frank Brennan SJ is professor of law, director of strategic research projects (social justice and ethics), Australian Catholic University, adjunct professor at the College of Law and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, Australian National University.