2017

1. 26 October Treaty

   Despite more than 60% of Australians supporting the Referendum Council's call for a constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejects it because it is neither “desirable or capable of winning acceptance at referendum”. ^[1]

2018

1. 17 October

   The Reserve Bank of Australia issues a new version of the $50 banknote that features Ngarrindjeri man David Unaipon. It shows his totem, the Black Swan. The excerpt of his book now appears as microprint behind his shoulder, and the note uses elements more closely related to his nation such as two shields and navel cords which clans exchanged to promote ‘fellowship’. ^[2]

2. 22 October

   Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologises to child sexual abuse victims and survivors at Parliament House. The apology follows a 5-year Royal Commission which exposed horrific abuse of children at institutions around Australia, and systematic attempts to cover it up. The inquiry heard from 17,000 survivors, of which 8,000 recalled their abuse in private sessions. More than 14% of respondents came from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.^[3]

2019

1. 1 October Prison

   Victoria introduces the Custody Notification Service (CNS) that obliges police to contact the Aboriginal Legal Service after taking an Aboriginal person into custody. Western Australia follows one day later.

2. 17 October Treaty

   The first of 26 statewide public consultation sessions about a treaty with Aboriginal people in Queensland is held in Cairns. The sessions invite Queenslanders to have a say about treaty, share what it means to them, and what a treaty could look like.
   

3. 26 October Land & land rights

   34 years to the day since the Anangu people received the land rights for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the board closes the Uluru climb after a unanimous decision made in 2017.

4. 29 October Stolen Generations

   An independent review into Aboriginal out-of-home care in NSW presents its final report. It finds that child protection workers regularly gave "misleading" evidence to the children’s court, often took the most traumatic option by removing Aboriginal children from their families, and operated in a "closed system" that lacked transparency, had no effective regulator and was run with little or no genuine consultation with the Aboriginal community. The review also found "widespread noncompliance" with law and policy by family and community services workers.

2020

1. 5 October Remains repatriation

   The Yindjibarndi people of Roebourne, WA, celebrate the unconditional return of eight secular items from Andover, United Kingdom (UK), where the family of a private collector had held them for more than 100 years. The items include a shield, spear thrower, two boomerangs and four wooden spear heads.

2. 30 October Arts Self-determination

   

   Midnight Oil, a non-Aboriginal band, releases The Makarrata Project, a mini-album of collaborations with Aboriginal artists. The album's cover shows the entire Uluru Statement From the Heart which about 250 Aboriginal delegates agreed on in 2017.

   We urge the federal government to heed the messages in the Uluru Statement From the Heart and act accordingly.

   — Midnight Oil ^[4]

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References