Director of Identity 

The Uluru Statement from the Heart remains a live political document. The campaign continues to grow, and it must. This is the campaign of our lifetimes—our opportunity to follow in the footsteps of our Elders who won the 1967 Referendum. Thomas Mayor

Last Thursday, May 26 marked five years since the creation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This incredible gift to the Australian people was initially rejected by the Government, but has continued to gain momentum, with growing support from everyday Australians, and many sectors of Australian society including education, business, media, law and health. 

In 2017 at Uluru in the Northern Territory, Aboriginal people from all over Australia gathered to present the Uluru Statement From the Heart to the Federal government calling for three things Voice, Treaty and Truth. This is explained in three practical actions:                     1. Constitutional Change, involving enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution (Voice); 

2. Legislative Change, involving the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making with Australian governments (Treaty); and

 3,  The Makarrata Commission, which would oversee a process of truth-telling about Australia’s history and colonisation (Truth). 

Someone who was there that day, Statement signatory and long-time campaigner Thomas Mayor speaks still speaks of this landmark document with determination “We must fight to win, however long it takes. Establishing a Voice, a permanent First Nations institution, is the first and most important step on a long road to reaching our rightful place in a country that always was and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.” Thomas reminds us of the words in our own Acknowledgement of Country  “… We acknowledge the continuing relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Country that was never ceded…” and our commitment to continuing our conversation with First Nations Peoples about how we occupy the Land upon which our College sits. 

Yesterday in Melbourne, EREA launched their Stretch RAP, a shared and significant moment in the reconciliation journey of all EREA schools, and part of the writing in the introduction certainly inspires us further in what we are trying to achieve in reconciliation at St Virgil’s College.

“By daring to imagine our schools as places of radical inclusion, justice and liberation, we believe we can make a contribution towards, truth, justice, healing and historical acceptance”

To find out more about the Uluru Statement From the Heart https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/