Indigenous fears for Makarrata commission

Steadfast supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart plan ‘new messaging’ about the intent of the landmark document.

Pat Anderson believes the spirit of the Uluru Statement was lost amid political debate. Picture: Rohan Thomson

Steadfast supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart plan “new messaging” about the intent of the landmark document.

Uluru Dialogue co-chair Pat Anderson is among Indigenous leaders who believe the spirit of the Uluru Statement was lost in political debate over its call for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous advisory body or voice.

Ms Anderson and others intend to press on with a campaign for constitutional recognition in some form and for a Makarrata commission to supervise agreement-making and truth-telling. That commission, as described in the Uluru Statement, was to be the next step after voice. At an address to supporters in Newcastle on Thursday, Ms Anderson said: “I worry that we will see the Makarrata baby thrown out with the referendum bathwater.”

Anthony Albanese’s remarks at the weekend about Makarrata have been widely interpreted as the end of Labor’s commitment to a Makarrata commission.

“In case you missed it, the PM on Sunday seemed to walk back his support for the Makarrata commission,” Ms Anderson said in her address to Allies for Uluru.

“He said ‘what we have proposed is Makarrata just being the idea of coming together’ and that it “might take different forms as it evolves’.

(But) the establishment of Makarrata was an election promise. And it is much more than a get-together. The Makarrata called for in the Uluru Statement is a bricks-and-mortar body, of historic stature.

“Since the PM’s comments, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has urged calm. She said ‘We are not moving away from our commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in terms of our love and our support for all of those who gathered (at Uluru) in 2017’.

“We shall see. What I can say is that I’m certainly getting a sense of deja vu. That familiar feeling when retail politics and short-termism start to motivate the abandonment of a key Indigenous reform … I hope I’m wrong. But we have seen that politicians can be fair-weather friends.”

Uluru Dialogue has been researching the No vote and reasons for it. The women-led campaign intends to share this research in future. In the meantime, Ms Anderson said, the campaign is working with supporters “making sure these other Indigenous reforms remain at the centre of the national conversation”.

“We need to resurface the spirit of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was lost in the political debate. This message of peace and hope was completely drowned out by polarised rhetoric. Misunderstood. And even worse, misrepresented by those seeking personal or political gain,” Ms Anderson said.

“I have to imagine that better engagement with (the Uluru) Statement would have helped. Just one quarter of Yes supporters have read it. I find that shocking. We need people to understand the intention.”

Ms Anderson said the Uluru Statement was “about charting a path forward, one where we all belong in – and to – our own country”. “We’ll need to land that message with a new messaging framework. A framework that will be effective in a very challenging environment,” she said.