Australian Bishops urge reconciliation with Indigenous peoples

By Lisa Zengarini

Despite the overwhelming rejection of the proposal to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “Voice” in the Australian Constitution, Australia needs to find a way to address the inequalities many First Nations people endure, Australian bishops say.

After a harsh referendum campaign, on October 14 all six Australian States voted “No” by a wide margin of 61 per cent to the constitutional amendment recognizing First Nations peoples and creating an  advisory body, called “The Voice to Parliament”.

The “Uluru Statement"

The amendment had been proposed in 2017 in the “Uluru Statement from the Heart”, a document crafted by Indigenous leaders to "empower" Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and give them “a rightful place” in Australia. 

Despite being the original inhabitants of the continent, long before the European colonization, the Indigenous peoples of Australia   - who make up 3.8% of the nation's 26 million population – have endured dispossession of their lands, forced assimilation, and violence, and continue today to be discriminated and the most disadvantaged people in the country.

The arguments of the referendum campaign 

The “Yes” campaign, supported by Labour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said that the “Voice” could help tackle these inequalities. Opponents, on the other hand, argued that the proposed amendment was  “divisive”.  Some Aboriginal groups also opposed the “Voice”, but on different grounds, calling instead for a legally binding treaty between First Nations peoples and the Australian government to be prioritised.

Need to address the injustice experienced by First Nations people

For her part, the Catholic Church in Australia, that endorsed the 2017 “Uluru Statement”, has actively advocated for the “Yes” vote.

In a statement released in the wake of the referendum, on Sunday, Bishop Charles Gauci of Darwin, chair of the Australian Bishops’ Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, reiterated that although the “Voice” proposal was not supported by a majority of Australians, “that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do something.”

Bishop Gauci noted while the debate leading up to the referendum was “intense and, at times, challenging”, there was an “overwhelming consensus […] that more should be done to address the injustice experienced by so many First Nations people”.

Church's commitment for Indigenous people in Australia

Admitting that the Australian Catholic Church herself has not always lived up to its own ideals, Bishop Gauci remarked that in recent times it has been “a driver of positive change” for Indigenous peoples in Australia  and called for a redoubled effort to reduce ongoing inequalities towards  reconciliation. “At this moment in our history, it is time for the Church and its ministries to redouble our efforts to close the gap – not as a slogan, but as a commitment,” he said.  “That can only be done by, in the words of our recent Social Justice Statement, listening to, learning from and loving our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.”