National Reconciliation Week 2023 encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways.

For ABM this meant stepping back and handing our traditional National Reconciliation Week letter over to NATSIAC so that an Anglican Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice could be heard. (The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council is formed, in part, to be a voice to the wider church on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues).

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council (NATSIAC) has issued an official statement relating to the upcoming Voice referendum.

In support of the Yes vote, the statement says of the Referendum proposal, in part, that:

“It is simple and uncomplicated and appeals to the fairness of Australians to recognise First Peoples in the founding document of our nation. This is a significant step that builds on the success of the 1967 Referendum and the democratic process we now know as the Statement from the Heart….

“…It provides advice, input and a Voice for the First Peoples on matters that affect them directly. It is not another layer of bureaucracy or a third chamber. It is there to be the conscience of parliament and will act in the manner the legislation under which it will be formed allows it to…”

You can read the whole statement here.

As part of National Reconciliation Week, ABM has also mailed out to Anglican parishes a poster of the Statement From the Heart, together with a copy of the NATSIAC statement.

See also our Resources: Reconciliation