To mark National Reconciliation Week, Shelley Reys AO spoke about Australia’s reconciliation journey at our Employee Forum.
Shelley Reys is a Djiribul woman of far north Queensland and a leader in the corporate, Indigenous and reconciliation spaces for nearly three decades. She is known for her leading work with the national apology to the Stolen Generations and the broader national reconciliation movement as the inaugural Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia.
Shelley delivered an empowering message: we’re all responsible for – and benefit from – our reconciliation journey.
“Allyship is incredibly important,” said Shelley. “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 3.3% of the population nationally. We cannot do this on our own. We need our non-Aboriginal brothers and sisters with us. We will not be able to shift the dial in health, let alone housing, law, justice employment or education without our allies standing beside us.”
Part of the process is being brave enough to ask the important questions and to “remove the eggshells” from discussing reconciliation. “If you’re walking on eggshells, you’re not being your best. It’s important for us to be educated to such an extent that we are removing the eggshells. So that we’ve got skills as well as confidence to be able to play our part.”
That’s why education is crucial, said Shelley. “It’s so important for Australians to understand our shared history in order to understand why a reconciliation process is necessary in the first place.”
If you missed Shelley’s engaging keynote presentation, you can watch the recording here.
Approved by Louise Kanis, Executive Director, Communication and Engagement