Sold out Reconciliation Week breakfast in Hobart hears “now more than ever” time to fight

Speaking at an emotional Reconciliation Week breakfast, emerging Palawa musician said last year’s referendum results was not the end of the fight for Aboriginal people — but the beginning.

Ged Watts palawa man and Shane Howard Goanna frontman who both were guest speakers. Reconciliation Tasmania breakfast in Hobart to celebrate Reconciliation Week. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Now, more than ever, Tasmanian Aboriginal people need to keep fighting according to emerging young Palawa musician Ged Watts.

“Now, more than ever it’s so hard for Indigenous people in our society,” he said.

“Now more than ever there is so much unrest.

“Now more than ever this fight for equality must continue,” Mr Watts said.

Speaking at an emotional Reconciliation Tasmania National Reconciliation week breakfast, Mr Watts told the 800 plus strong crowd that last year’s referendum results was not the end of the fight for Aboriginal people — but the beginning.

The National Reconciliation Week theme this year is now more than ever as a reminder that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will – and must – continue.

Mr Watts was joined on stage by Reconciliation Tasmania’s first ever non-Indigenous guest speaker former Goanna frontman Shane Howard.

Ged Watts palawa man and Shane Howard Goanna frontman shared the stage to mark Reconciliation Week. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Howard said it was a “huge honour to be the first whitefella” to speak at the event.

“I felt the pressure of that,” he said.

He said Tasmania draws him back every year since he visited in the “Franklin days”.

“You feel the weight of history in Tasmania, I really feel it deeply.

“But I feel this incredible strength of cultural recovery.

“It’s quite inspiring,” he said.

He likened the Tasmanian Aboriginal spirit to the Eureka Stockade which “gave the world modern democracy”.

“Maybe Aboriginal Tasmania has something to offer the rest of the country in terms of resilience and recovery from such brutal colonisation,” Howard said.

Howard and Mr Watts performed Goanna band’s smash hit Solid Rock- a song Howard wrote in 1980 about injustices and land rights for Indigenous Australians.

He said the theme of now more than ever was an affirmative statement post referendum.

“It’s not like the problem goes away because we had a majority no vote- we still have to do the hard yards, we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Reconciliation Tasmania assistant manager Carol Altman said this year’s theme now more than ever was about “staying the course”.

“It’s not a time to walk away from this ongoing journey,” she said.

She said the turnout to the reconciliation week breakfast at Mystate Arena was their biggest ever with more than 870 people.

The sold-out event was MC’d by Palawa woman Aria Ritz.