Members of Brighton Coun­cil’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) working group recently attended Reconciliation Tasma­nia’s annual forum. The theme of the forum was ‘Closing the Gap Through Real Employ­ment’, exploring topics such as cultural safety in the workplace and sharing employment stories and experiences from Aborigi­nal Tasmanians.

The discussion highlighted how important it is for organisa­tions to have policies in place to ensure cultural safety and to provide cultural awareness training for all staff, and to be genuine in its endeavours to be diverse and inclusive.

With a national referendum coming up and a treaty process underway in Tasmania, the time to focus on reconciliation is now. It’s time to start talking about reconciliation with others and to seek an understanding of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the path to a First Nations Voice to Parliament.