The Wire

Today the National Reconciliation Planning Workshopdraws to a close. The two-day conference was organized by lobby group Reconciliation Australia, and featured speeches by politicians as well as delegates from indigenous groups, business and youth groups. The conference is the first national gathering of indigenous leaders following the abolition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. It also comes five years after the Walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which called for reconciliation between white and black Australians. While Prime Minister John Howard said his address to the reconciliation conference this week left him hopeful about future relations with indigenous communities, some attendees at the conference had a different story to tell. Ray Minniecon, chair of the National Sorry Day Committee, attended the conference and felt the results for indigenous Australia’s were mixed: while much was achieved at the conference, much has been left undone. Here’s what he had to say to The Wire. The Wire also spoke to Sylvie Ellmore from ReconciliACTION, who claimed the conference did not adequately represent young people. Reconciliation Australia declined to comment on today’s story.

ReconciliACTION
Reconciliation Australia