Church calls for discussions about First Nations sovereignty and Treaty

Uniting Church in Australia Assembly
25 January 2016

Survival Day message urges new talks on sovereignty and treaty for First Peoples

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan has issued a Survival Day message, calling for a new national conversation about sovereignty for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In a message released to coincide with Australia Day, Mr McMillan has asked Australians to celebrate the resilience of First Peoples and their extraordinary contributions to Australian life.

“Our national day is a good time to see with new clarity the wonderful heritage that is embodied in the nations and clans of this land’s First Peoples,” said Mr McMillan.

“Respect for First Peoples is the hallmark of a great nation, and it’s now time for us to follow through on our unfinished business.

“For Christians, Christ’s love compels us to be truth tellers and ministers of reconciliation.

“May God grant us the perseverance to carry forward these important conversations, working together with other Australians who share a passion for indigenous justice.”

Mr McMillan says part of that conversation needs to include the possibility of a Treaty between Australia’s First and Second Peoples.

The Uniting Church added a Preamble to its own Constitution in 2010 to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of Australia and to confess the Church’s complicity in their dispossession and assimilation.

At its triennial Assembly meeting last year, the Uniting Church committed to advancing its own internal discussions about sovereignty and Treaty with its partners in the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress.

The President of the Uniting Church in Australia Stuart McMillan

 
President Stuart McMillan

Mägayamirri Rom. Greetings to you in the Yol?u languages of North East Arnhem Land. “May the way of peace and tranquility, harmony with the whole of creation, be with and within you”.

As Australians across the country pause to mark the anniversary of British settlement, I wanted to share with you some reflections on the 26th of January, a day which many including myself refer to as “Survival Day”.

On this day, I encourage you to celebrate the resilience of our First Peoples, the indigenous people of this land, who have survived the waves of colonisation which have swept over them. Aboriginal leaders in all walks of life are making extraordinary contributions to our shared life and helping us all to better understand ourselves and our nation.

Across all parts of Australia, cultural practices connecting the First Peoples with this land and creation continue to be life-giving. Ancient languages are spoken and many are now being saved from extinction. These are good reasons for all Australians to give thanks.

Our national day is a good time for those of us who are the Second Peoples to see with new clarity the wonderful heritage that is embodied in the nations and clans of this land’s First Peoples.

I welcome the Australia Day Council’s acknowledgement that our national day should be authentic and mature, a day when we can celebrate and mourn at the same time. Respect for First Peoples is the hallmark of a great nation, and it’s now time for us to follow through on our unfinished business with First Peoples. For Christians, Christ’s love compels us to be truth tellers, ministers of reconciliation, daughters and sons of peace, and bearers of light and love.

In the Uniting Church we recognised First Peoples in our Constitution some years ago. We are now committed to a conversation about what it would mean for us to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as sovereign peoples. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress in their desire to engage the Federal Government on their just concerns for a Treaty, denied for so long in this land.

There is much work to do. May God grant us the perseverance to carry forward these important conversations, working together with other Australians with a passion for indigenous justice.

This Survival Day may you hold the warmth of the campfire in your heart.

ENDS