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Be a Voice for Generations.
The 2023 theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise. For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, let’s choose to create a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all. This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, Be a Voice for Generations, urges all Australians to use their power, their words and their actions to create a better, more just Australia for all of us.
By making a change, we can collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
At NA Group, we proudly hold an endorsed Reconciliation Action Plan and we have been working our way through practical plans for action in our commitments to contribute to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We still have more work to do.
Our vision for reconciliation encompasses a business that is culturally safe and welcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We will continue to encourage and implement change that actively contributes towards unity and reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australian. Our aim through the plans we have for the week is to live the NRW 2023 theme by being a VOICE for generations.
Aunty Lyn Martin visited us for National Reconciliation Week to educate us on some interesting history of the Dharug people, the traditional custodians of the land on which our business operates. Our office enjoyed a delicious lunch, catered by Supply Nation registered caterer Plate Events.
Aunty Lyn has been working with us to advise us on ways to achieve our Reconciliation Action Plan successfully. With Aunty Lyn’s help, we officially presented our customised acknowledgement that has been created by Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill of Burruguu Art. It proudly hangs within our office entry area for all to see.
We also officially presented our new flagpoles with the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Australian flags proudly raised and beautifully flying in the wind.
Our team learned so much which is important for NA Group as we learn more about our First Nations people. We thank Aunty Lyn for giving us the priviledge to hear her speak and share her knowledge on history of our local area.
We also continued marking National Reconciliation Week through the week by holding a screening of the film ‘The Final Quarter’.
The film is about Champion AFL footballer and First Nations leader, Adam Goodes.
In the final three years of his playing career he became a lightning rod for a heated public debate and widespread media commentary that divided the nation. He publicly called out racism, was named Australian of the Year, was accused of staging for free kicks, and performed an on-field war dance celebration. The cheers became boos as football crowds turned on him. This introduced the ‘Racism. It stops with me.’ campaign and began a conversation on the effects of racism.
Using only archival footage aired at the time, the film holds a mirror to Australia and is an opportunity to reconsider what happened on and off the football field. After (and during) the film our team had multiple conversations about the effects of racism and the film definitely gave us a focus on why we have a Reconciliation Action Plan in place and why it is important for us as a business to ensure our goals are achieved.
By talking directly about racism, we can ensure that our business policies deliver anti-racism in all aspects. It also assists us in promoting a more sophisticated and meaningful racial awareness.
National Sorry Day 2023
We thank Aunty Lyn Martin for inviting members of our RAP team to an event at Bankstown Girls High School this morning to mark National Sorry Day. The event was hosted by Bankstown Girls High School, Canterbury Bankstown Council and the New South Wales Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. We were privileged to witness Aunty Lyn’s Welcome to Country, and hear guest speakers Aunty Jennifer Newman and Aunty Noelene Holten.
Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, we cannot begin to fix the problems of the present without accepting the truth of our history.
Sorry Day asks us to acknowledge the Stolen Generations, and in doing so, reminds us that historical injustice is still an ongoing source of intergenerational trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Islander families, communities, and peoples.