On 27 May 2017, the Uluru Convention of First Nations was convened and a document was produced for the purposes of the Referendum Council report and more specifically broader use within First Nations Peoples communities and the Australian public.
Notwithstanding issues pertaining to the representativeness of the delegates to the Uluru Convention, the Uluru Statement from the Heart (“the Uluru Statement”) is a statement of high order broad issues requiring an appropriate and respectful response.
The Uluru Statement seeks to map out a path for progressing the relationships between Australian Governments and Australia’s First Nations Peoples.
The Uluru Statement has three elements or pillars, namely:
- the need for a formal mechanism for communication and dialogue between the Australian Governments and First Nations Peoples (“the Voice”),
- the creation of a Makarrata Commission to oversee and guide the entry in settlement agreements or treaties (“Treaty”),
- and a truth telling mechanism (“Truth Commission”).
Our Working Group was established at the 2017 Uluru Convention to take the reforms forward, to create a peoples movement in support of the reforms, and to negotiate with the government and parliament to progress them.
The Working Group is made up of both Male and Female delegate representatives from each of the Regional Dialogues of our First Nations Peoples.