Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the original inhabitants of this land, living in connection with it from time immemorial. All Australians must recognise and respect the rights, traditions, and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, denying their sovereignty and their rights, was a great injustice that continues to reverberate in Australia today.
In 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was released. You can read the statement here.
The statement is an invitation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to all Australians to walk together towards a better future. It says:
"We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own
country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in
two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution."
Together supports this cause and is in full support of a referendum to establish the First Nations Voice.
Our 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Conference was an an important part of the process to empowering the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers and this work will continue in 2023.
As a union we recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original, sovereign custodians of this land. We stand in solidarity with their desire to be heard and their desire for substantive reform of Australian institutions in the interests of justice.
