Treaty conference forges links between Black & White Australia

A national Indigenous conference held at Murdoch University last month was attended by nearly 300 delegates.

Highlighting racism, land and reconciliation in a global context, the conference featured a number of high profile keynote and invited speakers, including the Hon. Alan Carpenter MLA, Minister for Education Sport and Recreation; Indigenous Affairs; the Hon Chief Justice David Malcolm; Olympic champion Nova Peris; political leader Eddie Mabo Junior and Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell.

Entitled: 'Treaty, Advancing Reconcil-iation', the conference was opened by Murdoch Chancellor and Deputy President of the National Native Title Tribunal, the Hon Fred Chaney.

Overseas speakers included Mr Paul Okalik, the Premier of the Government of Nunavut, Canada, who described how the Aboriginal people of Nunavut, the Inuit, managed issues of reconciliation and advancement in the territory.

"Like the Australian Aboriginals, the Inuit were a nomadic people," said Mr Okalik.

"However, in the 1950s, the Canadian government developed a policy to move the Inuit people into communities. This forced an end to a centuries-old way of life, causing social, political and cultural upheaval in their lives."

He added that since the establishment of the territory of Nunavut in 1999, the situation was slowly being turned around.

Other Treaty highlights included Mr Farley Garlett's opening address: 'Treaty Lets Get It Right', and a hypothetical chaired by Murdoch Senior Law Lecturer Tony Buti, with a panel that included Michael Mansell, Dennis Eggington, Bill Jonas, Nova Peris and Clarrie Isaacs.

Treaty Co-ordinator, Murdoch University's Tania Jacobs, said the conference had helped explore Indigenous rights, existing treaty models and agreements as well as the implications of negotiating a treaty agreement.

She said it was a widely-held view amongst both conference participants and a growing number of Australians, that the issue of a treaty between Aboriginal Australians and other Australians was of the utmost importance to the future of this country.

"Treaty, Advancing Reconciliation has stimulated much community discussion and, according to some attendees, is already helping to further the cause for an Aboriginal treaty," she said.