Southern Cross University has taken the bold step of publicly and passionately committing to the sentiments of the Uluru Statement as milestone on the path to true Reconciliation.
Chancellor Nick Burton Taylor AM said Southern Cross University believed deeply in its connections with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
“The Uluru Statement of 2017 calls for a First Nations voice in our Constitution and we have deep respect for the sentiments it represents,” Mr Burton Taylor said.
“We want to be one of those who encourage this engagement process to continue with the First Australians.”
The Uluru Statement arose out of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Constitution Convention in 2017 over concern that the ‘gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia was part of a structural divide. It says “we seek Constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country”.
“As educators, it is our hope that a fuller appreciation of the long history that we all enjoy on this island will drive mutual respect for each civilisation and secure it for the future,” Mr Burton Taylor said.
Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said the tone of the Uluru Statement echoed the University’s own Reconciliation Action Plan.
“Southern Cross University hosts the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Council (NATSIHEC) at its Gold Coast campus on November 7-8 preceded by its Annual Elders day on November 6,” Professor Shoemaker said.
Mr Burton Taylor said the University Council moved its resolution (on April 17), in part because he feared a loss of impetus behind the Uluru Statement since it was released in June 2017.
