In 1965, Charles Perkins and other students from the University of Sydney led a 15-day bus journey across Northern NSW “to shine a light on the marginalisation of Aboriginal people in regional New South Wales”; this trip became known as the Freedom Ride. The media covered the protest and drew attention to the ongoing racial segregation and discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in public places. Within 10 years of this protest, the Whitlam Labor Government had ended the White Australia Policy and introduced the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) – to make it unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their race, descent, national or ethnic origin. These were significant moments where the courage of some pushed Australia to reconsider the hegemony of British Anglo identity, culture and history in our national imagination.
In 2025, 60 years on from the Freedom Ride and 50 years on from the Racial Discrimination Act, Australia now has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Diversity Framework Action Plan, a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Framework, and a First Nations Aged Care Commissioner. These high-level programs for change recognise the distinctiveness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures while highlighting the legacies of discrimination inflicted upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. These accomplishments result from years of advocacy from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and committed allies (including AAG).
There is, however, much more work to be done. As an example, in this year’s federal election campaign, a prominent candidate refused to stand in front of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, claiming that to do so is divisive. This follows examples of increased racism directed towards and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people during the 2024 Voice to Parliament Referendum (Anderson et al, 2023).
Reconciliation Australia argues that such “[i]nflammatory commentary and behaviour − especially during election campaigns − fuels racism, distress and disengagement.” They conclude that despite widespread support for reconciliation, we still have a long way to go to eradicate racism in Australia, especially racism directed towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week is Bridging Now to Next, and reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future. Reconciliation Australia reiterates the call for Truth Telling and Makarrata, as outlined in the 2019 Uluru Statement from the Heart, a statement AAG has repeatedly supported.
Despite being listed as one of the world’s most successful multicultural countries, Australia is still grappling with its colonial identity. This is summed up by two common protest slogans: “White Australia has a Black History”, which signifies both the atrocities and discrimination of colonisation, but also the deep and longstanding history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of this land. More recently, a variation of this sign has appeared: “White Australia has a Black Future”, a call for recognition, teaching and celebrating the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of Australia. Truth Telling and Makarrata can help us to acknowledge our segregated past and build our shared future.
Fifty years ago, Australia answered the calls of activists. Will the next 50 years reveal the same?
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