The role of truth-telling in Australian reconciliation: Addressing a colonial legacy

The project looked at how truth-telling processes contributes to reconciling Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and will help address the legacy of Australia’s colonial history. We worked in collaboration with Reconciliation Australia which is the largest non-governmental organisation addressing questions of reconciliation in the country.

Research Report and Policy Briefing Paper

Voice, Treaty, and Truth

The 2017 ‘Uluru Statement’ released by the government appointed Referendum Council established to investigate constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians, called for Voice, Treaty and Truth. While demands for Voice and Treaty have received some public attention, the demand for truth-telling remains significantly under-explored.

There is widespread community interest in and support for truth-telling at a local, state and national levels, with 89% of the general community and 93% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples believing that Australia should undertake formal truth-telling processes (Reconciliation Australia 2020).

Truth-telling as a means to meaningful reconciliation.

This new knowledge will have significant social benefit as it will help inform policy and practice that will allow Australians to grapple more effectively with how the desire for truth-telling can be realised in ways that addresses racism and long-standing tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, in order to ultimately support meaningful reconciliation that enhances durable and inclusive social cohesion and resilience. 

The research will use an innovative combination of qualitative and Indigenous methods to investigate local truth-telling processes currently emerging around the country and to explore how the call for local and regional truth-telling in the 2017 Uluru Statement could be realised in a manner that facilities reconciliation.

Project Outcomes

• A report as a resource to government, NGOs and community groups.

• A short summary report with key findings for organisations when engaging with their constituencies.

• A policy brief outlining key recommendations for the design of truth-telling processes.

• A policy workshop to allow relevant stakeholders to engage with the report and its preliminary findings

• A public seminar, as well as media engagement and opinion pieces to generate public interest and conversation around truth-telling.

• Two scholarly publications in leading international journals.