Reconciliation, Two Centuries On, Is Dialogue Enough?
Working Paper 2008/1
Patrick Dodson
This Working Paper is the full text of the Centre for Dialogue's Second Annual Lecture, delivered by the 'father of the reconciliation movement', Patrick Dodson. The lecture was delivered just months after the then Federal Government announced a controversial military intervention in remote Indigenous communities. Under the intervention, the Australian federal government removed the permit system that enabled indigenous elders to prohibit outsiders from entering their communities, and welfare payments were quarantined.
In this paper, Patrick Dodson condemns the Howard Government's intervention as an example of wedge politics — the 'use of racism to extract support from sections of the community.' He labels the Government's relationship with Indigenous Australia as 'assimilationist', which is detrimental to Indigenous welfare and culture.
Dodson calls upon the Australian Government and public to develop a new national policy framework based on partnership between the indigenous and non-indigenous population. Dodson outlines a blueprint for such partnership, which would help Australia advance on issues relating to the native title agreement negotiation process, Indigenous governance, and community mediation and development at the local level.
The paper includes a response by The Right Reverend Dr Philip Freier, who has spent many years teaching in Indigenous communities and as an advisory teacher for Aboriginal education with the Queensland Education Department.
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