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1. Current situation
Successive government policies to date have failed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This has resulted in disparate inequalities throughout almost all wellbeing and economic measures across the State (and Australia).
2. Our goal
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recognition and Justice by truth-telling, listening, healing & valuing Culture.
3. What systemic change is needed?
Governments, organisations and the community must respect the knowledge and expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by listening and accepting to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices on issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander matters. As a community, we need to acknowledge the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as expressed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Governments
and organisations must look for ways to empower Aboriginal communities, for example by:
• Providing adequate funding and culturally appropriate services to reduce the economic, social, and political disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in WA.
• Supporting Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to take leadership roles in provision of these services and focusing on place-based, community led solutions.
• Undertaking mutual capacity building and knowledge
sharing activities with ACCO partners.
4. What are we doing to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recognition and Justice?
• Australia is home to the oldest living cultures in the world and Anglicare WA has a long history of working closely with Aboriginal peoples, as clients, advisors and partners in social change.
• Anglicare WA has supported the Uluru Statement from the
Heart since its inception, and still do. We thank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for their generous invitation to walk together towards a better future for all Australians.
• We are implementing our Reconciliation Action Plan to
embed cultural security into all aspects of our work and to improve retention and employment opportunities and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• We believe we can have the biggest impact on addressing Aboriginal
disadvantage by supporting Aboriginal clients with our services and supporting the Aboriginal community through our advocacy.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recognition and Justice Advocacy – Four advocacy principles:
1. Truth-telling
: We humbly respect and honour that recorded history does not always reflect truth and acknowledge the role we have in ensuring our advocacy work seeks informed outcomes by recognising this.
2. Listening
: We listen deeply to Aboriginal clients, partners and staff. We walk with these voices when advocating for systems change, understanding when to ‘speak up with’, and when to ‘listen to’ community.
3. Healing
: We acknowledge the healing work to be done across Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities and commit to walk with community when advocating for what is needed to help build a Western Australia where everybody can thrive.
4. Valuing and Respecting Culture: We celebrate the richness of Aboriginal culture and wisdom, and the generosity that has been offered by Aboriginal communities. We seek this lens across all our Advocacy work, understanding that it will contribute to a better outcome for everyone.
We seek guidance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including our Aboriginal Advisory Group, on issues relating
to our services, Aboriginal engagement and in our advocacy work. We work independently and in collaboration with others to raise awareness on issues that matter and to seek policy change by:
• Directly contributing to policymaking submissions, meetings and hearings.
• Supporting campaigns led by Reconciliation WA and being a member of the Social Reinvestment WA network that works for systemic change and ‘smart’ justice to end the over-representation of Aboriginal people in custody in WA.
• Changing the narrative - truth telling by:
- Focusing on acknowledging history and celebrating culture through advocacy and the arts, social media, and reinforcing messages from above campaigns.
- Committing to truth-telling by finding opportunities to ask, listen and share its history; model different ways of talking about our history.
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