the B+W+P view of Howard's sincerity: “From hearing John Howard’s comments at the breakfast I felt the big change in him is that he’s learnt what to say in order not to inflame people,” Stark told the Star. “His government has basically said that it is not interested in the idea of a treaty. His words were that he’d approach the idea of a treaty with an immense amount of good will but let’s face it, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” ------------------------------- [Sydney Star Observer] 14 Dec 2000 Reconciliation Moves Forward By Sean Maher Gay and lesbian reconciliation network Black+White+ Pink [B+W+P] are calling for a show of strength from the community following news that they will be honoured with a national award from the government’s peak indigenous advisory body. B+W+P have asked the gay and lesbian community to show its strength of support for reconciliation this Friday by attending the People’s Reconciliation Celebration in Glebe. The event will see B+W+P receive a prestigious National Reconciliation Award from the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. The award is the last of its kind as the Council prepares to end its formal term. Next year it will be replaced by the Reconciliation Australia Foundation. The presentation comes at a high-profile time for the reconciliation movement. Thousands came out in support of indigenous rights at reconciliation marches in Melbourne and Perth on 3 December. Last Thursday Prime Minister John Howard also indicated a shift in his opinion on the issue at a breakfast launch of the Council for Reconciliation’s final report to the government. At the launch Howard admitted that reconciliation is “an unstoppable force” in the Australian community. The sincerity of Howard’s admission has been met with both cynicism and support from rights organisations. NSW Anti-Discrimination Board [ADB] president Chris Puplick told Sydney Star Observer that he welcomes Howard’s sentiment. “I think it is quite clear that John Howard has accepted that reconciliation is not going to go away,” he said. “There has been a huge amount of people taking part in reconciliation activities and those people have made it clear that it is something that a majority of Australians want to see their government deal with.” The AIDS Council of NSW’s [ACON] Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander project officer, Chris Lawrence, agreed. “I take it on merit that Howard has expressed his personal opinion on the issue – as an individual and not as a leader,” Chris said. However, B+W+P spokesperson Stuart Stark, who attended the launch of the Council’s report, was more cynical, pointing to the fact that the government is still resisting the option of a treaty with the indigenous community. “From hearing John Howard’s comments at the breakfast I felt the big change in him is that he’s learnt what to say in order not to inflame people,” Stark told the Star. “His government has basically said that it is not interested in the idea of a treaty. His words were that he’d approach the idea of a treaty with an immense amount of good will but let’s face it, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Community support for indigenous rights will be highlighted at next year’s Mardi Gras parade. ACON are supporting a float titled Our Queen Our Country, which Chris Lawrence said is intended to increase the visibility of indigenous issues. B+W+P will also have a float, which at this stage is an amalgamation of floats featuring indigenous elders, Miss Reconciliation 2000, Pauline Pantsdown and lesbian and gay community figures. The People’s Reconciliation Celebration award ceremony, where B+W+P will pick up their award, will take place at Tranby Aboriginal College, 13 Mansfield St, Glebe at 4pm on Friday December 15. --------------------------------------------------- Garry C Black+White+Pink http://bwp.org.au/ ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
