This year, the theme for NAIDOC week is “Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up”. As a union we are committed to achieving justice for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. In the words of the NAIDOC Committee, “Getting Up, Standing Up, and Showing Up can take many forms. We need to move beyond just acknowledgement, good intentions, empty words and promises, and hollow commitments. Enough is enough. The relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non‑Indigenous Australians needs to be based on justice, equity, and the proper recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights.” Union members in particular support constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and we are calling on the new federal government to implement the Uluru Statement From The Heart. All union members and all Queenslanders should support the spirit of NAIDOC Week and the theme of getting up to end disadvantage and injustice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. NAIDOC Week 2022 is between 3 July and 10 July. Find local NAIDOC week events near you here.
Sorry Day is held every year on 26 May. This is a day to commemorate the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were forcibly removed from their communities, as documented in the Bringing Them Home report of 1998. Policies of forced removal began in the 1880s and continued until the 1970s. They were enacted by both state and federal governments. The deep trauma of forced removal affected the lives of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and it continues to affect their lives and communities today. Members of Together are committed to redressing the wrongs of the past and securing justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Recognition of past wrong requires that we commit to remedying current injustice and building a better future. Sorry Day 2022 is the fifth anniversary of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which was made in 2017. Together has endorsed and supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We call for it to be implemented in full. The new Australian federal government has committed to implementing the Statement from the Heart in full and Together supports that commitment. Learn more about Sorry Day here. Learn more the Uluru Statement from the Heart here.
