Archbishop says tackling Indigenous inequality not ‘either or’ proposition

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says symbolic change went hand-in-hand with practical measures to tackle disadvantage and inequality among Indigenous Australians.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby with Indigenous dancers in Perth. Picture: Supplied.

Symbolic change went hand-in-hand with practical measures to tackle disadvantage and inequality among Indigenous Australians and was not an “either or” proposition, the Anglican Church’s top international leader says.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is making Indigenous engagement a feature of his first full-scale tour of the country and accepts that the church shares blame for historic wrongs including the Stolen Generations.

But he rejected the proposition that efforts to close the gap between the lived experience of Aboriginal people and the wider community should take priority over so-called symbolic action on a voice to parliament or treaty-making.

While he was reluctant to “lecture” Australians, Dr Welby said neither approach would work if they were not pursued together. “What I do know from parallel cases elsewhere is that as a basic principle these are not either-or choices,” he told The Australian.

“Symbolism supports concrete action and gives it momentum. But symbolism without concrete action is basically meaningless. Therefore, it’s a ‘both and’, not ‘either or’ – a first- and second-order ranking.”

The London-based clergyman is seen as first among equals in the global pecking order of an 85 million-strong Anglican communion that, he said, was increasingly focused on “making up very much” for the ill-treatment of indigenous populations in South Africa, North and South America, New Zealand and here.

Was progress being made on closing the gap in Australia? Dr Welby would not venture an opinion. However, tracking released by the federal government in July showed a number of key performance targets had not been met, notably on preschool child development, suicide prevention and adult imprisonment rates.

On reconciliation, he said: “There is a very considerable consciousness of past errors in a number of institutions in which, incidentally, the Anglican Church of Australia is one, but only one of that number.

“There is a real effort to change that and it goes right across the church, overriding other differences which are divisive in the church around human sexuality,” he said, referencing splits over same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay priests.

“The … commitment to future improvement is the first absolutely essential stop, necessary but not sufficient because there is a long way to go.”

Asked if Australians could be proud of the post-settlement treatment of Indigenous people, Dr Welby hesitated before answering. “Ah, I tend to be quite cautious about accusing others,” he said. “What I am clear about is … Australia, I think, has a very wide range of views on this.

“Certainly in recent years and with the referendum coming up about an Aboriginal voice … there is much more attention being paid to this. I think the Lost Generations’ history shows very clearly that whoever was responsible it was groups of people, not just one institution, and there’s very little or nothing to be proud of and quite a lot to be ashamed of.”

Dr Welby said first nations peoples around the world were “quite rightly calling for clear signs of repentance” and action to support them.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

But Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Waripiri-Celtic woman from Alice Springs, has argued that “immediate concerns and issues” such as housing, violence against women and children and alcohol abuse had priority over the voice.

Having visited Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, Dr Welby will visit Sydney on Tuesday before moving on to Ballina and Grafton in northern NSW, then flying to Cairns in far north Queensland and far-flung Thursday Island off the tip of Cape York Peninsula.