CLOSING THE GAP

Native title has delivered recognition for Indigenous
Australians and has ensured that the connection
they have to country is respected and protected. The
Australian Government believes the fundamentals
of native title should not only be protected
because of its cultural and spiritual significance,
but also because it can be an economic asset for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander culture in public administration
Australian Government agencies have a range of
initiatives in place to maintain focus on Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander culture and the unique
role it plays in our national identity. Across the public
service, employees are offered training in cultural
awareness and cultural competence, to build an
understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
cultures. Reconciliation Action Plans increase focus on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and provide
opportunities for developing respectful relationships.
The professional and lived experience of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander staff across the public
sector adds to the diversity and quality of policy
and program design, and service delivery. The
Australian Government has set targets for Indigenous
employment across all agencies and supports
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff networks.
Many agencies also participate in the Jawun
Indigenous Community – Australian Public Sector
Secondment Programme for executive level staff.
The program is a two-way learning opportunity
designed to facilitate on the ground experience in
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations
and communities. In 2016, over 80 Australian
Public Service staff participated in the program.
HEALING OUR PAST
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
service men and women
For more than 100 years, Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people have served side by side with
other Australians in the armed forces to protect our
nation and many continue to serve today. The First
World War saw around 1,000 Indigenous Australians
fighting for their country, and in the Second World
War, while many Indigenous Australians served
overseas, around 50 Yolngu men were the first line of
defence on the northern coastline they patrolled.
While there are many stories of exemplary service
by Indigenous Australians, many are only now being
told. These are stories of men who served their
country, despite not having the right to vote and
were treated poorly upon their return. These
stories must continue to be told, and preserved,
as part of our Anzac and Indigenous history.
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Lovett family serving our country
Alfred John Henry Lovett, a Gunditjmara man from
Victoria’s Western districts, was the eldest of
12 children. While Australia was in the midst of the
Gallipoli campaign, 35-year-old Alfred joined the rush
of young men eager to enlist in the Australian Imperial
Force. Four of his brothers followed in his footsteps.
In October 1915, Alfred farewelled his wife and two
sons and embarked aboard HMAT Ulysses for the
Western Front. Soon after he arrived, Alfred was
involved in the battle of Pozières. While on active
service Alfred suffered from mumps, influenza
and bronchitis, and after nearly two years he was
declared medically unfit and returned to Australia.
Alfred was the first of 20 Lovett family members to
serve Australia in war and peacekeeping operations,
from the First World War to East Timor. All of the Lovetts
survived the various wars. Lovett Tower in Canberra was
named in honour of the family’s generations of service.
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Recognising First Australians
in our founding document
The 2008 National Apology to the Stolen Generations
was an important milestone in the healing of our
nation. It was a long overdue acknowledgement of
grief, suffering and loss experienced by generations
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people in Australia’s Constitution is another step in
the journey of healing. It speaks to the nation we are
today and the nation we want to become in the future.
It also complements the work all Australian
states have done in recognising our First
Peoples in their constitutions.
Throughout 2016, the bipartisan-appointed Referendum
Council began a series of Indigenous-designed and
led consultations, placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples at the centre of discussions about
a referendum proposal. This process will continue
in early 2017. Concurrently, the Referendum Council
released a public Discussion Paper, and will reach out
through its website, to facilitate discussion throughout
the broader Australian community on this matter of
national significance. The Council will conclude the
process with a National Indigenous Constitutional
Convention in Uluru and will report to the Prime
Minister and the Leader of the Opposition by 30 June
2017 on a range of matters, including advice on timing
and the question to be taken to a referendum.
•18• CLOSING THE GAP: PRIME MINISTER'S REPORT 2017