The Prime Minister’s Apology to the Stolen Generation in February this year has had a number of positive responses. The signing, in March, of a Statement of Intent, to close the gap in health status between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples marked another milestone along the road to reconciliation.

The Statement of Intent complements Reconciliation Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) Program, which encourages all parts of the community—corporate Australia, local communities, schools etc—to turn good intentions into measurable actions.

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The value of these RAP’s is evidenced by Reconciliation Australia’s announcement in August this year that more than 1700 jobs have been created in the last two years under the RAP program, providing important lessons for supporting Aboriginal people to enter and flourish in the workforce.

We at Queers for Reconciliation (Q4R) are strongly encouraged that the Western Australian Government also made a commitment for their Agencies and Departments to have developed RAPs by the end of June 2008. Many of these are now in place and real action to assist Aboriginal people and promote reconciliation is under way.

The RAP program encourages and advises organisations in all sectors in identifying specific, measurable and achievable targets in employing Aboriginal people. Drawing on evidence of what works in attracting and retaining Aboriginal staff, RAP employment targets are set alongside other actions including tailored recruitment and retention programs, and working with non-Aboriginal staff to shape an environment in which Aboriginal recruits are supported and respected.

According to the Reconciliation Australia’s website, there are already 90 organisations delivering on their RAPs, including large corporations like Qantas, BHP Billiton, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank, with hundreds more in development.

When businesses recruit Aboriginal employees for business reasons, as well as social reasons, we know the effort will be sustainable. While the private sector has an incredibly important role to play, the whole community has to be prepared to set targets to back statements of good intent.

Q4R does not have the resources to commit to developing a formal Reconciliation Action Plan, but we have held meetings recently with some of our members and supporters to determine our future direction.

There was clear support for a continuation of our successful Introductory Cultural Awareness Workshops and we hope to continue these over the next few years. If you are interested in attending one of these workshops, or even better if you are prepared to get a groups of friends or members of a groups in the queer community together to hold on of these workshops, please contact Jim Morrison or Alan Carter.

In addition, there is a desire to hold a range of social events to provide opportunities for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people from the queer community to get to know each other in a safe and friendly environment. We also plan to host some bush walks with Aboriginal tour guides and to host film nights and discussions about issues connected to the reconciliation agenda.

Contact details:

Jim Morrison: mobile 0408 917 133
email: jimbo@arach.net.au
Alan Carter:
mobile 0428 250 155
email:albanygreenie@yahoo.com.au

Jim Morrison