ACT Greens MLAs launch first Reconciliation Action Plan

2019-05-08

The Offices of Shane Rattenbury and Caroline Le Couteur MLA will tomorrow (WEDNESDAY) formalise their commitment to realising reconciliation with the launch of the ACT Greens MLAs Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

This marks the first commitment of its kind from an office of the Australian Greens, and reaffirms the Greens ongoing commitment to justice, equality and reconciliation with our First Nations' peoples.

RAP organisations are turning good intentions into positive actions, helping to build higher trust and lower prejudice in partnership with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The RAP commits the offices of Mr Rattenbury and Ms Le Couteur to a range of measures to advance reconciliation, including:

  • Engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander key bodies in the development of policies that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our community;
  • Advocating for key policies that are support and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our community, such as the Uluru Statement from the Heart;
  • Ensuring that our staff proactively participate in National Reconciliation Week and related events.

“Across this country, the Greens acknowledge that First Nations People have a unique relationship with the land and water—that their rights and obligations as custodians must be respected—and that sovereignty was never ceded,” Mr Rattenbury said today.

“We have long believed that we must realise treaties with the sovereign First Nations peoples of the lands on which we live – including here on Ngunnawal land in the ACT.

“The nation has a long way to go before we achieve reconciliation, and it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can to contribute to this important reckoning. We’re pleased today to commit to stepping up our longstanding commitment to reconciliation with our First Nations’ peoples in today launching our first ever Reconciliation Action Plan.”

As members of the RAP community, the offices of Mr Rattenbury and Ms Le Couteur join over 1,000 organisations that have formally committed to the RAP program since its inception in 2006.

The ACT Greens policy platform in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is here.