THE NEED FOR A TREATY

In June 1979 I spoke in an Australian Broadcasting Commission Guest of Honour series about the need for the Australian Government to negotiate a treaty with the Aboriginal people of Australia. I pointed out that until this was done, our occupancy of this land, our very right to be here, is tainted by the aggression against the Aborigines by which it was established. Since that time there have been important changes in public awareness of that treatment and the status of Aborigines in our society. Evidence accumulates that international opinion judges our performance to fall far short of civilised standards. A series of reports by internationally respected bodies, including the World Council of Churches and agencies of the United Nations, shames us before the world. Our name is linked with South Africa and other nations whose lack of respect for human rights is widely condemned. Such judgements could well lead to action, political and economic, seriously detrimental to our international standing. It is inconsistent with our dignity as a civilised people to wait for such pressure to be mobilised against us.

Within Australia there has been a growing awareness of the injustices inflicted upon Aborigines by our forebears and of our own failure to act effectively to correct them.