OPEN letter from Aboriginal Elder Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra to Prime Minister Tony Abbott
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia for his courage in publicly acknowledging the terrible impact on Aboriginal Peoples as a result of early British settlement.
It is of extreme importance to us that we now work together for better outcomes and this can happen when a Prime Minister is prepared, as you have been, to recognise the pain and suffering that has taken place.
This is a beginning point and we thank you for it very sincerely.
You say that we should be recognised as first class citizens in our own country. We believe this to be true and we also believe that determining our own future is our right.
With your determined support we look forward to realising this in the not too distant future.
Your support for the recognition of Aboriginal Peoples in the Constitution is greatly welcomed and it is our wish that changes will also include provision of a framework for incorporating treaties as they are negotiated.
INDIGENOUS leader Djiniyini Gondarra, from northeast Arnhem Land (Galiwinku), speaks for the Yolngu Nations Assembly.
• The Australian: Indigenous leader welcomes Tony Abbott’s support for recognition
SMH:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/desmond-tutu-lay-bare-the-horrors-of-the-past-20140921-
