complement and enrich that of
the UCA and, hopefully,
Australian mainline churches.
Uniting Aboriginal and
Islander Christian
Congress
1.
It is the hope of Congress that the
Assembly will celebrate the anniversary
of the Church‘s recognition of Congress
(1985), and the establishment of the
Covenant (1994). It is hoped that the
celebration will be well-publicised, and
can include a statement by leaders of
Church, and by the Elders and other
leaders in Congress. It is also hoped that
there can be an appropriate honouring of
leaders such as Charles Harris, Dorothy
Harris-Gordon, Rronang Garrawurra,
Djiniyini Gondarra, Sealin Garlett, and
Bill Hollingsworth, who did so much to
establish Congress and shape the
Covenant.
INTRODUCTION
th
This year marks the 30 Anniversary
since the Assembly formally established
the UAICC (May 2005).
The mandate given to Congress by that
Assembly says: ―Congress shall have
responsibility for oversight of the
Church‘s life and mission with and for
Aboriginal and Islander people of
Australia. In fulfilling this responsibility,
the Congress shall seek to work with the
Assembly, synods, and presbyteries‖.
2.
In these 30 years Congress has built
strong regional committees, supported
various sorts of local ministry, committed
significant resources to the formation of
Christian leaders, worked (with varying
degrees of ease) with other parts of the
Uniting Church, encouraged the
development of Indigenous theology,
stood up for issues of justice for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples, and has sought to exercise
control over its own life within the
framework of a relationship with the
Church.
Some of the highlights of that period
have been (i) the 1988 March for Justice,
a protest against a community and
church that wanted to only recognise part
of the history of this country, (ii) the
establishment of the Covenant in 1994,
(iii) the Church‘s apology to the stolen
generation (1997), and (iv) adoption of
the new Preamble in 2009.
The report to the Twelfth Assembly
highlighted two central activities which
need to be part of Congress‘s ministry,
and it is worth repeating what was said:
*
A covenant-partner relationship
between the Indigenous and
non-Indigenous sectors of the
UCA to enable ―ministry to the
Aboriginal and Islander people of
Australia‖ to be fulfilled as well
as enabling Congress to share
its unique God-given gifts with
the wider UCA;
*
Development of an Indigenous
Christian theology to
A PLACE IN THE UCA
Congress would like to highlight what it
sees as four really significant issues in
the relationship between Congress and
the rest of the UCA:
*
Congress has made the decision
to be a part of the Uniting
Church, rather than being a
separate Aboriginal Church. That
decision was, and is, about
relationships and friendships.
However it has to be said that it
is not always an easy belonging,
and that at times the limits that
come with belonging are far too
restrictive and limiting of
Congress‘ ability to have control
of its own life. The issue of the
church‘s ability to find alternative
ways to include Congress in the
Constitution is one that invites
further engagement.
*
The relationship that exists is a
covenant relationship, and
commitment to the covenant has
deepened relationships and
brought shared actions. The
ASC has sought to encourage
further conversations about the
next steps in that relationship.
One of the things which the UCA
needs to wrestle with is whether
it has entered the covenant as a
way of being committed to a
journey of justice, or primarily as
a way of sustaining the unity of
the church. Is the Church able to
really act on the understanding
that reconciliation, which
underpins Covenant, needs to
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*
*
3.
deal with continuing issues
around land (including the
church existing on stolen land),
self-government, and justice?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples have unique
gifts to bring to the church; they
have a contribution to make. The
Church is inclined to act as if it
was ‗helping‘ First Peoples,
rather than recognising that it
can be helped to be church if it
remains open to the gifts and
leadership of First Peoples.
Congress members are
committed to the development of
an Indigenous theology, not
simply as a separate theology
but as one that contributes to
and enriches the life of the UCA.
The Preamble has given
Congress members a great deal
of permission to honour their
own understandings of the
presence of God in Australia, but
there is a lot of work to be done.
The Preamble makes claims that
cannot leave the church‘s
theology unchanged, but that
work is still largely undone.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LAST
THREE YEARS
Over the last three years there has
continued to be a strengthening of
ministry in regional areas. In NRCC there
has been a remarkable growth in ministry
provided by Pastors, which has been
very important to communities and
homelands in the Northern Synod. In
Victoria and WA the educational, culturestrengthening, and training work has
continued to develop. Other regions have
continued to develop local congregations
and faith communities, and to strengthen
local, Aboriginal expressions of Christian
faith.
The Destiny Together Week of Prayer
and Fasting held in 2014 was greatly
appreciated by Congress members. The
sharing of public worship so close to
Parliament House in Canberra was a
great act of public witness. There was
enormous encouragement as people
shared in this commitment to justice. It
was also encouraging to know that many
congregations had spent time in prayer
and fasting.
The last three years has seen the
emergence of new, young leaders in the
life of Congress. Young people from
Congress were well-represented at
NCYC (2014), and have been wellrepresented at the National Young Adult
Leaders Conference. Not only have
young Aboriginal people been present,
but they have acted as mentors and led
studies. There have also been two
National Aboriginal and Islander young
leaders gatherings. Young people were
well represented at, and contributed to
the National Conference in January this
year.
Unfortunately national support for
women‘s ministry has become less over
the last couple of years, but
conversations have begun in order to get
this support going again. There has also
been regional support for women‘s
training with a women‘s training camp
held at Barrkira in North East Arnhem
Land in November 2013 and at Putatja in
the APY Lands in June 2014.
As the Preamble acknowledges, the
Church‘s mission history has been
ambiguous. And, yet, First Peoples still
honour mission work, and still honour
those who committed their lives to this
ministry. In 2012 there was a celebration
of the centenary of Mowanujum mission
in the Kimberley. In 2016 there will be a
celebration of the centenary of Methodist
mission work at Goulburn Island,
In 2014 Congress sadly said goodbye to
one of the National Elders. He was the
first person from the APY lands (SA) who
was ordained as a Uniting Church
Minister. We celebrate his commitment
to Christ, his faithfulness to the ministry
that was entrusted to him, and his work
in strengthening the culture of his people.
Over the last three years the regional
committees have grown in their capacity
to oversee ministry, and have continued
to strengthen relationships within their
synods. National Congress has slowly
been moving towards a more federated
set of relationships, rather than having all
the power in the national committee. This
led to a decision to shift the national
office from Townsville, and to change the
main staffing role from National
Administrator to National Coordinator (a
resourcing and support role).
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4.
Mountains, Healing People‘. Nearly 150
people (including participants in About
Face) enjoyed a week of worship, Bible
study, fellowship, friendship and
business. There was fun and laughter.
And there was deep pain as people
shared the stories of the past, and their
experiences of the present – including
racism, closure of communities,
imprisonment rates, and the ongoing
impact of stolen land. There was a long
discussion about marriage.
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
AND TRAINING
For many years Congress has provided
two options for the education and
formation of Ministers and other leaders
– attendance at Yalga Binbi Institute in
Townsville, which was financially
supported by National Congress and
provided the necessary Diploma level
study, or attendance at Nungalinya
College which was supported by NRCC.
While Nungalinya could and did provide
excellent education for lay leaders
(including Pastors) it did not provide a
Diploma level course.
In 2013 National Congress was surprised
to learn that it had no voice in the
administration of Yalga Binbi, and no
capacity to shape its future directions. In
2104 it determined to withdraw students
and support from Yalga Binbi and
establish its own Registered Training
Organisation. A review of education for
ministry was also established to consider
the direction of education and training,
and how that could best be delivered.
Rev Dennis Corowa (Calvary) was
elected National Chairperson for the next
three years, and Rev Garry Dronfield
(NSW-ACT) was appointed as Deputy.
6.
Pressures around risk management,
safety, care of staff and volunteers, and
the need for good financial management
have grown across the church, and
Congress is not exempt from those
pressures. The mission of God remains
central to the life of Congress, but more
and more time is taken up with
governance responsibilities.
A number of factors continue to shape a
changing scene – financial pressures,
conversations about one national
college, new courses at Nungalinya, and
growing concern for ways to support
ministry candidates in southern regions
and in relation to other UCA colleges.
Probably the major change, at least in its
long term impact, was the decision that
‗readiness for ministry‘ could not simply
be equated with gaining a Diploma in
Theology. There are a variety of ways
people can show readiness for ministry –
which includes an appropriate
understanding of biblical studies and
theology – and a Diploma is not the only
way.
In the light of these changes National
Congress has determined not to start an
RTO, but to encourage candidates and
others seeking education to attend
Nungalinya College or other Uniting
Church Colleges. Congress will provide
additional Congress and Uniting Church
related courses, and oversight of
formation.
5.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Congress‘ triennial national conference
was held at Poatina (Tasmania) 12-18
January 2015. The theme was ‗Holy
GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES
One response to these pressures was a
governance workshop conducted for the
members of the National Committee in
March 2015. The aim of the workshop
was to clarify responsibilities and
delegation of authority, to consider
strategic directions and risk
management, and to consider the
National Committee‘s obligations in
regard to budgets and financial control.
As a result of the workshop two working
groups have been established – one to
clarify the role of the National Committee
within the whole of Congress, and to
develop its strategic direction for the next
few years, and the other to consider what
governance structures are needed at this
time so that more work can be done on
Congress‘ Constitution and Regulations.
7.
SOME ISSUES
Congress is committed to holistic
ministry. That is, it is committed to
helping people gain new life in Jesus
Christ that transforms personal, social,
spiritual, and cultural dimensions of life. It
seeks to protect and nurture culture,
language and every day well-being.
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Congress values and affirms worship
and daily living that draws people closer
to God, and enables people to hear what
God is saying. There is an openness to
and seeking after the Holy Spirit. There
is a commitment to doing theology in
each local context.
Congress would like the Church to hear
again the issues which constantly
surround First Peoples, and would like to
challenge the Church to build
partnerships with Congress and other
First Peoples to respond to these issues.
While it may be difficult to hear and
accept, the Church is challenged to hear
that it has not always reflected, governed
and served First Peoples well.
Consultation is not always an open
conversation. Councils of the Church do
not always find it easy to honour
Congress as a group of First Peoples. It
is not that people do not try, and are not
good-willed; it is that what Congress
represents is often challenging. There is
a need to keep listening. There is a need
for all councils of the Church to
communicate better when it comes to
issues that impact on First Peoples.
There is diversity within Congress,
including a diversity in the way people
claim their identity as Aboriginal peoples.
The church needs to be careful of the
temptation to honour one people as the
‗real‘ Aboriginal people, or to believe that
what works in one place should work for
everyone.
This is reflected in conversations about
the recognition of First Peoples in the
Australian Constitution. At the last
Assembly Congress offered strong
support for Recognition. It now needs to
be said that while Congress still supports
Recognition, that support is more
ambiguous. Many communities do not
trust governments, and are wary of what
Recognition might mean. Others are
concerned that the conversation about
Recognition distracts people from the
real issue: sovereignty and treaty.
Aboriginal communities and people are
constantly confronted with death, and the
demands of funerals. People still die 10
years earlier than other parts of the
Australian community, and youth suicide
remains very high.
Aboriginal people are still overrepresented in the court system, and in
the prisons. In WA 17% of the population
make up 50% of the prison population,
and similar figures are true in other
states. The experience of Aboriginal
people is that they are ‗over scrutinised‘
by police. Indeed, some would claim that
there is an unrecognised crime in relation
to traffic offences called DWB – driving
while black.
Aboriginal people are still dying in
custody, despite the many years since
the Deaths in Custody Royal
Commission passed down its
recommendations.
People are still dealing with issues raised
by the stolen generation, which caused
personal and communal trauma. While
then PM Kevin Rudd‘s apology was
appreciated as an honouring of history,
very little practical action has followed.
Children continue to be taken from their
families, and far too many are placed in
care with non-Aboriginal families. This
means that another generation is denied
their language, culture, sense of
belonging, connection to the land, and
identity as an Aboriginal person.
The Closing the Gap report released in
2015 reminds us that, while some gains
are being made, there is still some way
to go before the Indigenous peoples of
this country enjoy the same health and
well-being as other members of the
community.
In many places progress is being made
to halve the gap in Year 12 attainment.
Education is crucial to people finding
employment, and to being able to
achieve the quality of life enjoyed by
other Australians.
The report reminds us that, sadly, there
has been no progress in reaching the
gaol of halving the gap in Indigenous
employment outcomes. Early childhood
enrolment targets have not been met,
and will be harder to meet with recent
budget cuts to funding. There has been
slow progress in closing the infant
mortality gap, and no overall progress on
halving the reading and numeracy gap.
The findings in the report remind us of
the likely negative impact of Federal
budget cuts in areas like the Tackling
Indigenous Smoking program - which
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also connects to healthy eating, nutrition
and exercise activities. It is crucial to
have well-funded primary health care
services to detect, treat, and manage
many of the chronic conditions suffered
by First Peoples.
being targeted in this way, and basic
community infrastructure – unquestioned
in other Australian communities – is
under threat in other states (e.g. SA).
This threat to community services is also
paralleled in threats to funding for
homeland centres in the Northern
Territory, which are a source of identity
and survival for many people.
The real challenge to improving health
outcomes is the other factors which
determine health. Gracey argues that
―desired health improvements depend
heavily on a wide set of social and
environmental determinants‖, including
―education, living conditions, vocational
training, employment, closer cooperation
between individuals and government and
non-government agencies, access to
high quality and affordable fresh food‖.
(Gracey, M. 2014. ―Why Closing the
Aboriginal Health Gap is so Elusive‖
Internal Medicine Journal 44: 11411143.) Connections to land, support for
language, and retention of identity are
crucial to health. It will not be enough to
simply provide better medical treatment
and disease prevention. The healing
ministry of Jesus reflected this holistic
approach to health. Jesus‘ healing did
not just respond to physical health
needs, but also addressed matters of
spiritual, emotional and mental health.
In the Northern Territory, a major report
into Indigenous Education has
recommended to the Government that
secondary education in indigenous
communities be wound back. In future
the only option for secondary education
will be boarding in the major centres.
This is seen by many as a major step
backward for indigenous education.
Boarding away from home is a good
option for some students but others are
better educated at home. It also
separates young people at a crucial
stage of their lives from the cultural
events in their home communities and
thus contributes to the demise of
Indigenous cultural knowledge and
practices. It is a further manifestation of
the Indigenous cultural genocide that has
been occurring in Australia since
European settlement.
Many communities do not have access to
land rights, and there are ongoing efforts
to undermine peoples‘ ability to protect
their sacred sites.
NRCC, with the Northern Synod, is
engaged in an attempt to support
Indigenous Education remaining close to
country.
Fracking is a contentious issue in
Australia at present. It is made more
difficult for Aboriginal people when local
land councils are in favour of such
activities (for financial reasons) and do
not listen to local landowners, or when
some landowners are under such
financial pressure that they want to mine,
even when others do not. This Assembly
is asked to express its opposition to
fracking on Aboriginal land.
Congress would like to build a network of
people who would support the struggle
for justice for First Peoples. People in
this network would be kept informed of
issues, and encouraged to take action
when it was needed. If you would like to
be part of that network, please email
Chris Budden at [email protected].
The Intervention continues in the
Northern Territory, raising significant
ongoing human rights abuses. Uniting
Justice and Congress have made a jointsubmission to the Human Rights
Commission about these matters.
A separate section of this report
highlights stresses being caused to WA
communities by the Federal
Government‘s decision to not fund
services in remote communities.
Unfortunately WA is not the only state
8.
PROPOSAL TO CLOSE
REMOTE ABORIGINAL
COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN
AUSTRALIA
In 2014 the Federal Government decided
that it would no longer accept
responsibility for the provision of
municipal services to remote Aboriginal
communities. The argument was that
such services should be the
responsibility of states and local
communities.
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The reality is money. In Western
Australia these services cost
approximately $1 billion annually, but the
WA Government was offered an extra
$90 million over two years. The WA
Government has decided to close
communities – nearly 150 of them. It
made the announcement in November
2014, then seemed to backtrack with a
promise of funding, but has again
recently reiterated its threat to close
communities. Indeed, some have already
been closed.
This has caused enormous stress and
anxiety across these communities. In a
nutshell the issues are:

there has been no consultation
with Aboriginal people or the
organisations which represent
them;

many of these communities exist
in places that allow Aboriginal
people to stay in touch with their
land and their culture. This is
another example of forced removal
and dispossession. There has
been no attempt by government to
understand what such forced
community closures and
movement of people means for
people‘s social, mental, spiritual
and physical life; and

the movement of this many people
will put enormous pressure on the
communities they go to – housing,
education, health facilities, and
community relationships. Nothing
has been done to plan for and deal
with such impacts.
While these are decisions of the WA
Government, they arise from decisions of
the Federal Government and its attempt
to shift financial responsibility. It is an
indefensible attack on the human rights
of Aboriginal people, made worse when
the Prime Minster describes the need to
stay on country as a ‗life-style choice‘.
Some brief history of the communities
People have chosen to live in these
small, remote communities as a way of
responding to colonial dispossession and
an attempt to stay close to the land
which is the source of their life.
Aboriginal people had their land taken
away from them by force, and the
massacres that occurred around the
country bear testimony to their
determination to defend their belonging
to the land. Yet even when they lost
control, Aboriginal people continued to
live on and live off the land, and many
stayed in their country working for
pastoralists and farmers. However, in
1968 it became law that they had to be
paid wages and when the pastoralists
and farmers could no longer afford to pay
them, Aboriginal people had to move to
town camps.
In addition to the massacres and their
dispossession from the land, Aboriginal
people have had to deal with the
consequences of racism and racist
policies including:

the 1905 Act by the Protector of
Aborigines which led to the forced
removal of children;

the men in the Kimberley being
‗black-birded‘ (conscripted) and
force marched in chains to
Broome to be pearl divers – many
died from the ‗bends‘;

the sexual and economic
exploitation of women as they
struggled to find work to maintain
their families;

the abuse of alcohol, drugs and
suicide by young people – a direct
result of their continued
dispossession and disillusionment;

the imprisonment of people far
from their homelands and families;
and

the continuing tragedy of
Aboriginal deaths in custody – a
tragedy that has touched every
Aboriginal family.
In the 1970s there was a movement to
allow people to return to their ‗country‘
and communities were
established. Some of those are quite
small today. Living on community is
integral to the identity, health and
wellbeing of Aboriginal people. To force
Aboriginal people to leave their land is
nothing less than an act of cultural and
community destruction.
The rationale for the proposed closure of
communities was that they are not
economically viable. However, the real
purpose of any community is to sustain
the people who live in it across all
aspects of human life. If ‗financial
sustainability‘ was the only measure of
the value of a community then quite a
few non-Indigenous communities across
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9.
Australia – in rural and remote areas –
could equally be closed. That this would
never be countenanced by governments
or broader Australian society just
highlights the racist nature of this policy.
*
These decisions represent a significant
breach of human rights. For more detail,
please visit the Congress Website,
http://uaicc.org.au
*
*
*
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FUNDING
The May 2014 Federal Budget had a
significant impact on Aboriginal peoples.
Overall there was a significant
reorganisation of Indigenous Affairs,
including a shift of many programs to the
oversight of the Department of Prime
Minister and cabinet, a funding reduction
with no indication on how the proposed
savings will be achieved, and very few
details about the reorganisation /
consolidation.
The major impacts have to do with:
(i)
the mainstreaming of Aboriginal
people and shift of responsibility to
the States/Territory (and the
almost inevitable fact that they will
not get services and support that
suits them);
(ii)
the disproportionate impact of
some measures because of the
age (young) and disadvantage of
Aboriginal people;
(iii)
the major impact this will have on
the Close the Gap program; and
(iv) reduced capacity to have a voice
or to protect Aboriginal people and
their culture.
There are significant changes in policy
and programs that seem to have
occurred without any serious
consultation with Aboriginal people who
have been appointed by Aboriginal
people.
The overall funding for the five new
program areas is $4.8 billion (a 4.5%
reduction from the funds presently
spent).
Cuts and reductions
*
National Congress of Australia‘s
First Peoples - $15 million. This
means that there is no
representative body for Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
*
Aboriginal Legal Service - $13.4
million.
Family Violence Prevention Legal
Service – $3.5 million.
Torres Strait Regional Authority $3.5 million.
Aboriginal Languages - $9.5
million. This is a terrible attack on
language programs at a time when
there has been a slow revival of
interest in language learning, and
what this means for people‘s
identity and well-being. I have
heard Elders say recently how
important it is for them to be able
to do a welcome to country in their
own language.
Indigenous Health - $270 million
The Federal Government has a number
of National Partnership Agreements with
the states and territories that are central
to the health and well-being of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples:
*
Indigenous Early Childhood
Development. No funding has
been made available in this
budget. This may lead to the
closure of up to 38 children and
family Centres.
*
Remote Indigenous Housing, and
Stronger Futures (the Intervention)
both have allocations until 201718.
*
Closing the Gap in Indigenous
Health Outcomes – expired June
2013. No mention in this budget.
Neither is there any mention of
meeting the goals of the National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Health Plan 2013-23.
*
the NPA on Remote Service
Delivery is, when it expired in June
2014, to be replaced with a new
Remote Community Advancement
Network in the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet, and
bilateral arrangements with each
state and territory. The
Government has not yet explained
how the new arrangements would
work. However further changes
would seem to contradict the
advice of Brian Gleeson, the
Coordinator General for Remote
Indigenous Services, in his last
biannual report, January 2014:
―If there is one message
I want Governments to
hear from this report it is:
Do not press the reset
button! … If we continue
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*
*
*
*
*
*
to start over again the
foundations previously
laid will be pulled up
time and again, never
allowing enough time or
energy to build the
structure required to
close the gap on
Indigenous
disadvantage.‖ (Dr John
Gardiner-Garden,
‗Budget Review 2014
Index‘. Parliamentary
Library)
Axing of the Preventative Health
National Partnership Agreement –
will limit a key part of the strategy
to close the health gap.
Newstart / Youth Allowance – 6
months delay before eligibility.
Newstart / Sickness Allowance;
increase in age of eligibility. Both
will fall more on Aboriginal people
because more are under 30.
Income management – extension
and expansion. Impacts only on
Aboriginal communities, and has
occurred without consultation.
The consolidation of 150 program
areas into 5 (jobs and economy,
children and schooling, safety and
well-being, culture and capability,
remote Australia strategies), with
$534 million in program cuts, and
a commitment to achieve the
Government‘s priority areas
(rather than those of Aboriginal
people). The cuts will occur across
the Department of Prime Minister
and cabinet ($409.2 million),
Department of Health ($121.8
million), Torres Strait Regional
Authority ($3.5 million).
More stringent conditions on
remote Indigenous housing.
Funds to provide essential
services to remote communities
have been cut, something for
which the Commonwealth has
been responsible for 50 years.
This means rubbish collection,
diesel supply, and sewerage. This
will impact on 60 communities
across four states and territories,
and 4000 people. It will threaten
the existence of homeland
communities.
The Indigenous Advancement Strategy is
not serving the needs of Aboriginal
peoples. In many cases Aboriginal
organisations have been denied funding
for community based programs which
have been run successfully for some
time, while large welfare organisations
absorb the funds and nothing happens
on the ground. The community sector
finds itself fighting over a small amount
of funds.
There needs to be a bi-partisan
commitment to long-term funding, rather
than the present situation where policies
and funding change every few years.
People need the opportunity to start and
develop programs without the constant
fear that at the very point where they
work the funding will be removed.
10. COVENANTING
Twenty one years ago Congress and the
Assembly entered a Covenant, a
commitment to a new form of relationship
that would honour the place of First
Peoples and Congress in the Church. It
is important to remember that the
Covenant arose because the members
of Congress felt that the church had not
stood with it in the debate about the
Australian Bicentennial; there was a
broken relationship that needed fixing.
Covenanting is a commitment to an
equal, just, and inclusive relationship
between First and Second Peoples
within the church. It is a relationship that
is founded in God‘s covenant relationship
with the whole creation. It also
recognises that Aboriginal People have a
covenant with the Creator who placed
them in this land as its custodian, and
enter a relationship with the Church as a
sovereign people.
This relationship is not simply about
sitting and talking together. It is a
relationship which implies that the church
wishes to share in the search for justice
and well-being for First Peoples.
Congress wishes to suggest some
practical things which might mark the
next stage in the covenant relationship.
First, there is a need for the Church to
build on and deepen the work begun with
the Preamble, and consider what it
means that the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Peoples who belong to
Congress are actually a sovereign
peoples who have never given up their
claim that the land – including the land
on which the church exists – is land
entrusted to them by God.
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The issue here is not simply real estate
but relationship. For First Peoples
relationships begin in a relationship with
the whole of creation and the sacred
presence that sustains life. How we deal
with land speaks of our sense of
relationship with each other and the
earth.
This means that the Church needs to
enter into a serious conversation with
Congress about issues of land and
property.
It also means that the Church needs to
encourage and support both explorations
of Indigenous theology, and attempts to
understand the implications of the claims
of the Preamble for the theology and
worship of the Church.
Second, there is much that needs to be
said and much listening that needs to
occur. An important next step in
Covenant may be to set up a period of
listening and truth-telling about the past
and the present.
The foundation for this truth-telling is
relationships. There is a need to build
relationships in which people can really
walk alongside each other, develop
mutual respect, and learn to be honest
as only friends can.
Church has to have ownership of what
the church did and then move it forward.
It is not about guilt but owning the pain.
Third, there needs to be a commitment
from the whole Church to work actively
on the issues facing First Peoples: very
high imprisonment rates, deaths in
custody, high levels of youth suicide,
efforts to close remote communities,
attempts to close high schools in
communities, protection of sacred sites,
funding cuts to health and education
services, continuing high rates of
children being removed from their
homes, the continuing Intervention,
attempts to undermine the homeland
movement.
Fourth, it is too easy to see Aboriginal
people as passive victims, rather than as
active participants in dealing with all the
things that impact on their lives. Central
to people‘s capacity to engage in lifeaffirming ways are support for culture
and language, education and
employment. The Church, as a major
employer and education provider, has
the capacity to take practical steps in
these areas.
Fifth, there needs to be a quite deliberate
effort to engage all the diverse
communities within the Uniting Church in
the conversations around covenanting. In
what ways does covenant impact on
recent migrants and refugees, and how
can these issues be explored?
Sixth, Aboriginal people still experience
racism on a daily basis. This racism
needs to be named, and the Church can
play an educational role in this area.
Finally, there should be a standing group
that develops a specific action plan
around these issues, and continues to
monitor progress.
11. MAPOON
In 1891 the Presbyterian Church
established a mission at Mapoon, on the
western side of Cape York, just north of
Aurukun. The purpose was to curb the
abuse of people from European and
other intruders in the area. Over the
years people from many communities
moved there. Stolen children from across
Queensland‘s north were brought there.
When bauxite was discovered by
Comalco and Alcan in the 1950s
pressure developed to shift the people of
Mapoon to other places. From the early
1960s funds were withdrawn to force the
people to move. In 1963-64 people were
forcefully removed, and buildings burned
down. This included the church building.
The wider church has since
acknowledged that it did far too little to
defend the people and stop their forced
removal.
The people started to return to Mapoon
in 1974, and finally won control of their
land, with their own Shire Council (2005).
As the result of a visit from the then
President, Sir Ronald Wilson (1988-91),
an appeal was established for the
rebuilding of the Church. Some money
was raised, but nowhere near what is
required.
It is only recently that the Council has
been able to make the necessary
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decisions to allow the rebuilding of the
church.
Congress is asking the Assembly to
launch another appeal for the Mapoon
church, and also to raise again the issue
of compensation from the Mining
Company and Queensland Government
for the destruction that was caused to the
community.
12. THE DOCTRINE OF
DISCOVERY
Human beings wrap their actions in
stories and rituals that explain and justify
what we do. They provide meaning and
purpose, and often seek to offer the
moral foundation for action.
One of the ugly parts of the history of the
church is the way it has offered stories
that have justified and / or excused
invasion, dispossession, and the
destruction of Indigenous Peoples. Being
too closely aligned to those with power,
and too little aware of those for whom
Jesus had a special place, it justified and
explained the actions of colonial powers.
One of the most significant ways the
church has cooperated with colonial
empires has been in the development of
the Doctrine of Discovery, a principal of
international law that dates back to the
th
15 century and which provided the
justification for the invasion of Australia.
In 1095, at the beginning of the
Crusades, Pope Urban II issued an edict
– the Papal Bull Terra Nullius (meaning
empty land). It gave the kings and
princes of Europe the right to "discover"
or claim land in non-Christian areas. This
policy was extended in 1452 when Pope
Nicholas V issued the bull Romanus
Pontifex, declaring war against all nonChristians throughout the world and
authorizing the conquest of their nations
and territories. These edicts treated nonChristians as uncivilized and subhuman,
and therefore without rights to any land
or nation. Christian leaders claimed a
God-given right to take control of all
lands and to justify wars of conquest,
colonization, and slavery.
By 1492, this Doctrine of Discovery was
a well-established idea in the Christian
world. As Columbus reached the
Americas he performed a ceremony to
"take possession" of all lands
"discovered," meaning all territory not
occupied by Christians. While later
popes denounced the dehumanization of
Native Americans, none of the Papal
Bulls previously declaring all
"discovered" lands belong to Europeans
have been repealed.
What is particularly significant for
Australia is that King Henry VII adopted
the Doctrine of Discovery granting his
explorers the right to assert dominion
and title over all non-Christian lands with
the Church‘s blessing.
Hundreds of years of decisions and laws
continuing right up to our own time can
ultimately be traced back to the Doctrine
of Discovery—laws that invalidate or
ignore the rights, sovereignty, and
humanity of indigenous peoples around
the world. In many countries, like the
USA, this doctrine is woven into law
through nineteenth century case law that
is still used as a precedent today. The
Statement from the WCC which is
contained in the proposals from
Congress also makes it clear how this
doctrine has impacted on Australia.
The Uniting Church occupies land that
was stolen from Aboriginal people
because of this Doctrine of Discovery. In
assuming and claiming that the Church
has a right to this land it implicitly lives
within the theological justification of the
invasion of Australia and the taking of the
land.
Congress raises this issue of the
Doctrine of Discovery to challenge the
Uniting Church to build on the work of
the Preamble and to continue to
understand how the relationship between
Christian faith and culture, mission and
coercion and the power of the Church
and its theology – without in any way
meaning to – harmed those who are First
Peoples.
The Doctrine is a case study of the
dangers which arise when the church
gets too close to the state or other places
of power, and when the church provides
theological rationale for whatever a state
does. It calls the Uniting Church to be
clear about the relationship between
church and state, in relation to First
Peoples but also in all its relationships
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with government, and the value of an
appropriate separation.
Congress is asking the Assembly to do
two things. First, to repudiate the
Doctrine of Discovery, and to commit
itself to challenge any ways that doctrine
still exists in our society and the rest of
the world. This is an act of naming,
owning and repudiating some parts of
the church‘s history and involvement in
the colonising of Australia. It is to
implicitly question the church‘s
occupancy of land, and its unwillingness
to accept the sovereignty of First
Peoples.
Second, the World Council of Churches
has called upon member churches to
consider the issues raised its Statement
on the Doctrine of Discovery Impact on
Indigenous Peoples. We have not.
Congress asks the Assembly to affirm
that statement, and encourage its
consideration in the church and, in
particular, in theological colleges.
Congress. Congress may also appoint
16 of its members to Assembly (3.3.8.(a)
(ii)). Congress would like its chairperson
and deputy-chairperson to be ex-officio
members of the ASC, and would like the
National Coordinator to be a full member
of the Assembly and able to be present
at ASC in the same way that Synod
Secretaries are (3.7.5 (j) (i)).
There are proposals about how these
things may best be achieved in the
Regulations.
PROPOSALS
That the Assembly
1.
Amendments to Regulations
2.
When the National Committee made the
determination to change the job
description for the national staff person,
and relocate its office, it also determined
that the placement of Rev Shayne
Blackman should conclude. This seemed
an appropriate time to explore new
directions in leadership.
(b)
Shayne was part of Congress from its
formation. He was a strong advocate for
self-determination, and the need and
capacity of Aboriginal people to control
their own lives. He constantly pushed the
church to hand over authority to
Congress. He had a great capacity to
imagine new forms of ministry.
(c)
National Conference offered thanks to
Shayne and to Lurleen for their support
of Congress over many years.
At present the Regulations indicate that
the National Administrator is an ex-officio
member of the Assembly and the ASC
(3.3.8 (a) (i)). There is no longer a
position of National Administrator. The
position has been replaced by ‗National
Coordinator‘, who need not be (and may
not be eligible to be) a member of
authorise the Standing Committee on the
advice of the Legal Reference
Committee to amend
(a)
13. HONOURING REV SHAYNE
BLACKMAN
14. REGULATIONS
receive the report;
Regulation 3.3.8 (a) (i) so that it
reads:
3.3.8
(a) The membership of
the Assembly shall consist of:
(i) ex-officio members:

…

the National
Administrator Coordinator of the
Uniting Aboriginal and Islander
Christian Congress.
Regulation 3.7.5.1 (a) (ii) so that it
reads: ―the Chairperson and the
National Administrator Deputy
Chairperson of the Uniting
Aboriginal and Islander Christian
Congress‖;
Regulation 3.7.5.1 (j) (i) so that it
reads: ―Secretaries of Synods,
National Coordinator of the Uniting
Aboriginal and Islander Christian
Congress, the Associate General
Secretary and the National
Director, Theology and
Discipleship‖.
Justice Issues
3.
commit its members and programs to
work with synods and other parts of the
Church to continue to highlight the issues
faced by First Peoples at this time, and
to developing appropriate responses in
partnership with Congress;
4.
request the Standing Committee to
continue to give attention to the way the
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various Councils of the Church give
authority to Congress so that they can
exercise real control of ministry and
mission among First Peoples;
5.
support the Northern Regional Council of
Congress‘ opposition to fracking on
Aboriginal land, and convey this position
to the Northern Land Council;
Memorial
6.
commit to work with Congress to
establish a memorial for Rev Charles
Harris at a place to be determined by
Congress National Committee;
Recognition in the Constitution
7.
(a)
note the comment in the Congress
report that there is a diverse set of
views within Congress regarding
Recognition in the Constitution;
(b)
continue to support Recognition as
long as the form of recognition
offered can be seen as a step
towards and not a blockage to the
larger issues of sovereignty and
treaty;
(c)
commit to work with Congress to
educate members of the church
about the need for a treaty;
Week of Prayer and Fasting
8.
request the Standing Committee, in
partnership with Congress, to facilitate
an annual week of Prayer and Fasting
which may in some years involve a
pilgrimage to the national capital, and
which has the aim of the deepening the
Covenant relationship rather than the
event being an end in itself;
Mapoon
9.
(a)
(b)
(b)
Statement on the
doctrine of discovery
and its enduring impact
on Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous Peoples have the oldest living
cultures in the world. Three hundred to five
hundred million Indigenous Peoples today live
in over 72 countries around the world, and they
comprise at least 5,000 distinct peoples. The
ways of life, identities, well-being and very
existence of Indigenous People are threatened
by the continuing effects of colonization and
national policies, regulations and laws that
attempt to force them to assimilate into the
cultures of majoritarian societies. A
fundamental historical basis and legal
precedent for these policies and laws is the
"Doctrine of Discovery", the idea that Christians
enjoy a moral and legal right based solely on
their religious identity to invade and seize
indigenous lands and to dominate Indigenous
Peoples.
17 February 2012 WCC Executive Committee,
14-17 February 2012, Bossey, Switzerland
1.
Indigenous Peoples have the oldest
living cultures in the world. Three
hundred to five hundred million
Indigenous Peoples today live in over 72
countries around the world, and they
comprise at least 5,000 distinct peoples.
The ways of life, identities, well-being
and very existence of Indigenous People
are threatened by the continuing effects
of colonization and national policies,
regulations and laws that attempt to force
them to assimilate into the cultures of
majoritarian societies. A fundamental
historical basis and legal precedent for
these policies and laws is the "Doctrine
of Discovery"•, the idea that Christians
enjoy a moral and legal right based
solely on their religious identity to invade
and seize indigenous lands and to
dominate Indigenous Peoples.
2.
Around the world, Indigenous Peoples
are over-represented in all categories of
request the Standing Committee to
launch a new appeal for the
building of a church at Mapoon;
commit to work with Congress to
raise the issue of compensation
with the Queensland Government
and the mining company for the
destruction that was caused to the
community;
Doctrine of Discovery
10. (a)
repudiate the Doctrine of
Discovery, and its theological
foundations as a relic of
colonialism, feudalism, and
religious, cultural, and racial
biases that have no place in the
treatment of First Peoples; and
affirm the WCC ―Statement on the
Doctrine of Discovery Impact on
Indigenous Peoples‖, and
encourage its consideration in the
church and, in particular, in
theological colleges.
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disadvantage. In most indigenous
communities people live in poverty
without clean water and necessary
infrastructure, lacking adequate health
care, education, employment and
housing. Many indigenous communities
still suffer the effects of dispossession,
forced removals from homelands and
families, inter-generational trauma and
racism, the effects of which are
manifested in social welfare issues such
as alcohol and drug problems, violence
and social breakdown. Basic health
outcomes dramatize the disparity in wellbeing between Indigenous Peoples and
European descendants.
3.
The patterns of domination and
oppression that continue to afflict
Indigenous Peoples today throughout the
world are found in numerous historical
documents such as Papal Bulls, Royal
Charters and court rulings. For example,
the church documents Dum Diversas
(1452) and Romanus Pontifex (1455)
called for non-Christian peoples to be
invaded, captured, vanquished, subdued,
reduced to perpetual slavery and to have
their possessions and property seized by
Christian monarchs. Collectively, these
and other concepts form a paradigm or
pattern of domination that is still being
used against Indigenous Peoples.
4.
Following the above patterns of thought
and behaviour, Christopher Columbus
was instructed, for example, to "discover
and conquer," "subdue" and "acquire"
distant lands, and in 1493 Pope
Alexander VI called for non-Christian
"barbarous nations" to be subjugated
and proselytized for the "propagation of
the Christian empire." Three years later,
England's King Henry VII followed the
pattern of domination by instructing John
Cabot and his sons to locate, subdue
and take possession of the "islands,
countries, regions, of the heathens and
infidels . . . unknown to Christian
people." Thereafter, for example,
English, Portuguese and Spanish
colonization in Australia, the Americas
and New Zealand proceeded under the
Doctrine of Discovery as Europeans
attempted to conquer and convert
Indigenous Peoples. In 1513, Spain
drafted a legal document that was
required to be read to Indigenous
Peoples before "just war" could
commence. The Requerimiento informed
Indigenous Peoples that their lands had
been donated to Spain and that they had
to submit to the Crown and Christianity
or they would be attacked and enslaved.
5.
In 1823, the U.S. Supreme Court used
the same pattern and paradigm of
domination to claim in the ruling Johnson
& Graham's Lessee v. M'Intosh that the
United States as the successor to
various "potentates" had the "ultimate
dominion" or "ultimate title" (right of
territorial domination) over all lands
within the claimed boundaries of the
United States. The Court said that as a
result of the documents mentioned
above, authorizing "Christian people" to
"discover" and possess the lands of
"heathens," the Indians were left with a
mere "right of occupancy;" an occupancy
that, according to the Court was subject
to the "ultimate title" or "absolute title" of
the United States. The Johnson case has
been cited repeatedly by Australian,
Canadian, New Zealand and United
States courts, and the Doctrine of
Discovery has been held by all these
countries to have granted European
settler societies plenary power
(domination) over Indigenous Peoples,
legal title to their lands, and has resulted
in diminished sovereign, commercial and
international rights for Indigenous
Peoples and governments. Europeans
believed this was proper based on their
ethnocentric, racial and religious
attitudes that they and their cultures,
religions and governments were superior
to non-Christian European peoples.
6.
Consequently, the current situation of
Indigenous Peoples around the world is
the result of a linear programme of
"legal" precedent, originating with the
Doctrine of Discovery and codified in
contemporary national laws and policies.
The Doctrine mandated Christian
European countries to attack, enslave
and kill the Indigenous Peoples they
encountered and to acquire all of their
assets. The Doctrine remains the law in
various ways in almost all settler
societies around the world today. The
enormity of the application of this law
and the theft of the rights and assets of
Indigenous Peoples have led indigenous
activists to work to educate the world
about this situation and to galvanize
opposition to the Doctrine. Many
Christian churches that have studied the
pernicious Doctrine have repudiated it,
and are working to ameliorate the legal,
economic and social effects of this
international framework. Starting in 2007,
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for example, with the Episcopal Diocese
of Maine, followed by the Episcopal
Diocese of Central New York in 2008,
and in 2010 by Philadelphia Yearly
Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends, individual churches began
adopting resolutions and minutes
repudiating the Doctrine. In 2009, at its
76th General Convention, the Episcopal
Church adopted resolution D035 –
"Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery." In
2010, the General Synod of the Anglican
Church of Canada adopted resolution
A086 – "Repudiate the Doctrine of
Discovery." In 2011, various Unitarian
Universalist churches and Quaker
organizations are adopting and
considering adopting resolutions and
minutes repudiating the Doctrine. This
issue of the Doctrine of Discovery has
also been brought to the forefront of
world attention by Indigenous Peoples
working with international bodies.
7.
Considering the fact that the Doctrine of
Discovery will be the theme for the 11th
session of the United Nations Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in
2012, churches and the international
community need to be sensitized on this
issue. The Doctrine of Discovery: its
enduring impact on Indigenous Peoples
and the right to redress for past
conquests (articles 28 and 37 of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples) will be discussed
at the UNPFII from 7 to 18 May 2012;
this event will bring together
representatives of Indigenous People's
organizations and networks around the
world. Churches and ecumenical
networks of the WCC will be mobilized to
be part of the 11th session of the UNPFII
in 2012.
B.
Denounces the Doctrine of
Discovery as fundamentally
opposed to the gospel of Jesus
Christ and as a violation of the
inherent human rights that all
individuals and peoples have
received from God;
C.
Urges various governments in the
world to dismantle the legal
structures and policies based on the
Doctrine of Discovery and
dominance, so as better to
empower and enable Indigenous
Peoples to identify their own
aspirations and issues of concern;
D.
Affirms its conviction and
commitment that Indigenous
Peoples be assisted in their struggle
to involve themselves fully in
creating and implementing solutions
that recognize and respect the
collective rights of Indigenous
Peoples and to exercise their right
to self-determination and selfgovernance;
E.
Requests the governments and
states of the world to ensure that
their policies, regulations and laws
that affect Indigenous Peoples
comply with international
conventions and, in particular,
conform to the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples and the
International Labour Organization's
Convention 169;
F.
Calls on each WCC member church
to reflect upon its own national and
church history and to encourage all
member parishes and
congregations to seek a greater
understanding of the issues facing
Indigenous Peoples, to support
Indigenous Peoples in their ongoing
efforts to exercise their inherent
sovereignty and fundamental
human rights, to continue to raise
awareness about the issues facing
Indigenous Peoples and to develop
advocacy campaigns to support the
rights, aspirations and needs of
Indigenous Peoples;
G.
Encourages WCC member
churches to support the continued
development of theological
In this context, the executive committee
of the World Council of Churches,
meeting at Bossey, Switzerland, 14-17
February 2012,
A.
Expresses solidarity with the
Indigenous Peoples of the world
and supports the rights of
Indigenous Peoples to live in and
retain their traditional lands and
territories, to maintain and enrich
their cultures and to ensure that
their traditions are strengthened and
passed on for generations to come;
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reflections by Indigenous Peoples
which promote indigenous visions of
full, good and abundant life and
which strengthen their own spiritual
and theological reflections.
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