By Jed Lanyon
Healesville Uniting Church voiced its support for an Indigenous treaty by unfurling a ‘Voice, Treaty, Truth’ banner on the church’s premises on Sunday 15 December.
Convenor of the Walking Together group Reverend Margaret Blair said, “Our eyes are starting to be opened as we have read some of the hugely disturbing accounts of the European settlement in this area, the story of Coranderrk, the dispossession of the Wurundjeri and the lack of respect for the First Peoples that continues to today. We would like to be a part of a better shared future.”
Ms Blair said that it was an important day for the Healesville Uniting Church, and that the Uniting Church in Australia, at the national and state level, strongly support the need for a First Peoples voice, enshrined in treaty and based on truth telling.
“The church recognises that we need a much better understanding of our shared history of the last 231 years and of the 40,000 years of indigenous history before that. The Uniting Church in Australia formally supports Voice, Treaty, Truth as outlined in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”
The Healesville congregation unveiled the banner to the view of main street Healesville before enjoying a barbecue lunch.
Voice, Treaty, Truth was the theme for NAIDOC Week 2019. In July, National NAIDOC Co-Chair Pat Thompson said that for generations, Indigenous Australians have sought recognition of their unique place in Australian history and society today.
“For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have looked for significant and lasting change. We need our fellow Australians to join us on this journey – to finish the unfinished business of this country.”
For more information about a First Peoples treaty, visit http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/learn/treaty.
