2020 has been a big year of change for us all. During such times many of us think and feel more deeply who our community is, and how we want to emotionally and mentally manage these changes in our world. The importance of our families, friends, those who need us and especially our responsibility to Country has become more significant than ever before.
But this period of time in our history shouldn’t become a struggle back to ‘normality’. The COVID crisis is a challenge and it can become an opportunity for change and growth together, if we choose to use it that way.
Now is a good time for us to rethink some of the major issues in our society, and how we can do things differently to get better outcomes for our future.
These statistics tell a story, one that First Nations people have been sharing and fighting for change for three generations in my lifetime. Children are dying away from their parents - and for our kids aged under 14, suicide is among the leading causes of death. In some states, our kids are being incarcerated, at young as 10.
We want our children and grandchildren to live in a better world, one where our dreams and visions for Country, family & all communities are realised.
The fight for social, racial, and economic justice is more urgent now than ever before.
As a collective group of nations we have never ceded our sovereignty. Our sovereignty comes to us from our self sovereignty individually and collectively, as First Nations people with traditional custodianship of our lands.
In a progressive place like Canberra, the disproportionate level of First Nations people in our criminal justice system- the loss of cultures and language, and the impacts of our ongoing dispossession - these simply should not be.
Having limited self determination and the changing policies of governments means we have no control over the decision making. The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the Human Rights Declaration says that we should have that control & be self determining.
We must do things differently if we want real equity for our First Nations Peoples.
The Greens understand that for systemic problems, you need systemic solutions. If government steps back and works with us, we can change the stats and make the difference to our real vision.
Right now, the ACT has the chance to lead the way.
We must continue to work hard for Truth-Telling, Justice, and Treaty. We need language training in schools, so that children learn earlier what mutual respect for each other looks like, across generations.
We need to support First Nations families with claims to connection to Country in the ACT to submit native title claims. We need to repeal and replace the Namadgi Agreement.
We need a First Nations Social Justice Commissioner for the ACT to get areas across government working together with First Nations communities, to improve our lives.
The continued legacy of colonialism has not yet fully recognised the sovereignty of our First Nations people across Australia - including right here in Canberra.
It is time to recognise that First Nations people know how to achieve transformation in our own communities through a process of true self-determination, equity and rights that allow us to take charge of that change.