Reconciliation Action Plan
Mission Australia’s vision for reconciliation is a reconciled Australia where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this country will be restored to a place of equity, dignity and respect. We aspire to see our national soul healed and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to be fully valued. We wish for broken relationships restored and social inequalities eradicated.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan, or RAP, details how Mission Australia is committed to help reduce the gap in living standards between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians.
The plan follows Reconciliation Australia’s well-established themes of relationships, respect and opportunities, which aligns with our own organisational values of respect, compassion, integrity, perseverance and celebration.
Developed with our staff and Reconciliation Australia, the Mission Australia Innovate RAP for 2022-2023 is our roadmap for implementing lasting change. It includes commitment to action on a number of fronts, including cultural awareness, better policies to recruit and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses through procurement activities.
During the next two years we will implement our RAP commitments. Our dedicated RAP Coordinator is supported by a RAP Reference Group, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Group and local RAP Champions across the organisation.
Inquiry into the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum
Principles for a partnership-centred approach
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth report
Uluru Statement from the Heart
To achieve substantial and sustainable change towards Reconciliation, Mission Australia believes that solutions must be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and people.
As part of our RAP commitments we are active supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Uluru Statement represents a historic consensus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders. It was written and issued to the Australian people, calling for a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution and the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to oversee agreement-making and truth-telling.
Mission Australia recognises that there are differences of opinion in the Australian community in relation to the upcoming referendum on a Voice to Parliament, including among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
Mission Australia believes that a Voice to Parliament enshrined in and protected by the Constitution is a vital first step to ensuring Reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians. We also acknowledge that sovereignty has never been ceded and that holistic conversations and action around treaty and truth need to complement proposed changes regarding a Voice to Parliament.
The Voice to Parliament will empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say on the laws and policies that impact them. It will be a permanent institution that will provide advice to the Parliament and Government on important issues.
The upcoming referendum is a historic opportunity to reimagine our nation. It is our chance to come together to deliver real change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so they can take their rightful place in our nation.
It is the start of much needed change so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this country are restored to a place of equity, dignity and respect and so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities are able to lead the work that affects them.
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Visit our News and Stories area for more stories about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities.
Mission Australia acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work, and we pay our respects to the Elders past, present and future for they hold the memories, the culture and dreams of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and continual relationship with the land and we recognise the importance of the young people who are our future leaders.
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