|
|
|
|
Shelter SA
|
|
Unit 44 |
|
81 Carrington
Street |
|
ADELAIDE SA
5000 |
| |
|
Tel: 08 8223
4077 |
|
Fax: 08 8223
4099 |
|
Email: |
|
sheltersa@sheltersa.asn.au |
|
|
|
ABN: 39 617 527
109 |
| |
|
|
Shelter SA's Commitment to
the process of Reconciliation
Reconciliation is understood as a process of ‘working
together’ and therefore is an issue for all Australians.
-
As an organisation that works closely with local and
regional communities, government organisations and other housing
support agencies, Shelter SA has an important role to play in
promoting the values of Reconciliation.
-
Shelter SA has a strategic role in educating,
researching and campaigning for local and regional housing agendas
and is therefore ideally placed to advocate for, and demonstrate
leadership in creating tolerance, understanding and increased
awareness of the housing needs and issues of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people.
-
Shelter is able through research and consultation, to
gain awareness of Aboriginal housing needs and therefore contribute
to a body of knowledge and increase understanding of how capacity
building may be progressed in Aboriginal communities
-
The Aboriginal Housing and Homelessness Branch of
Shelter SA promotes the process of Reconciliation, develops
partnerships between other organisations and through lobbying,
educating and research is ideally placed to increase knowledge and
understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’
housing needs
The purpose of Shelter SA’s Reconciliation Statement is
to promote the following principles:
Recognition and acknowledgement
-
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the
first people of Australia
-
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have
been disadvantaged by loss of their lands, the forced removal of
their children, and the loss of cultural heritage through
discrimination and dispossession
-
The Kaurna people are the traditional owners,
custodians and caretakers of the Adelaide plains and have an
enduring spiritual relationship with their lands
Diversity
Participation
Partnership
Shelter SA’s Policy Platform
The purpose of this policy is to identify ways in which
Shelter SA can promote the recognition and acknowledgment of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people, their culture and heritage and, in so
doing, bring about progress towards Reconciliation, which is:
|
A united Australia which respects this land of ours,
values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and provides
justice and equity for all.
|
This will be
progressed by:
-
Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people through observing culturally respectful practices and
protocols in Shelter SA’s service delivery to, and interactions
with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
-
The commitment to creating an office space and
culture within Shelter SA that is welcoming to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people
-
The adoption of the Kaurna greeting as an agreed
protocol at formal Shelter SA events, forums and official meetings.
Where a Kaurna Elder is not available to offer a greeting the
following statement will be delivered:
|
We would like to acknowledge that this land we meet on
today is the traditional land of the Kaurna people and we respect their
spiritual relationship with their country. We also acknowledge the
Kaurna people as the custodians and caretakers of Kaurna country which
incorporates the Adelaide Plains. We honour their on-going cultural and
spiritual connections to this country.
|
-
The development of appropriate partnerships between
Shelter SA, other organisations and agencies that support and
understand the housing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people
-
The encouragement of participation and the
improvement of housing access and services to Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people
-
Aboriginal representation on the Board of Shelter SA
Shelter
SA's Reconciliation Statement
|
Shelter SA is committed to both the spirit and the
process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people and the non-Indigenous population of Australia. In making this
commitment we:
|
|
Embark on a journey of healing and justice.
|
|
|
|
Recognise and acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people are the First Australians and the original
custodians of this land.
|
|
|
|
Acknowledge the loss of lands, children and kin,
languages and cultural identity and the continued impact of this on
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health
and well-being
today.
|
|
|
|
Recognise that to move forward, all Australians must
better understand the shared past and how it affects the lives of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
|
|
|
|
Accept that reconciliation involves both a symbolic
recognition of the honoured placed of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians, as well as the practical measures required to
improve the health and whole of life experiences for all of our
children, families and communities.
|
|
|
|
Value the unique opportunity for all Australians today to
embrace and to learn from the cultural richness of an ancient living
heritage which belongs to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples.
|
|
|
|
Believe that all Australians deserve a fair go.
|
| |
|
|
|
