Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin

The theme for this the 10th National Reconciliation Week is "Reconciliation: take the next step." This is a reminder that there is still much to be done to build relationships which achieve better outcomes for all Australians - Indigenous and non Indigenous.

National Reconciliation Week (May 27th - Jun 3rd) aims to provide a special focus for nationwide reconciliation activities and it offers people the opportunity to focus on reconciliation, to hear about the culture and history of Indigenous people, and to explore new and better ways of moving forward.

It will be preceded by National Sorry Day (May 26th) which was instituted in 1998 following the publication of the Bringing them Home report into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children from their families, and seeks to acknowledge the impact of those policies of forcible removal on Australia's indigenous populations.

This years events come at a time when the problems of violence, abuse and addiction in many Aboriginal communities are being highlighted.

Commenting on recent statements by the Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) Gary Highland pointed out that"in fact, violence and dysfunction is often the result of the powerlessness that comes from a lack of self determination" and that "what is needed is a comprehensive national response that involves Indigenous communities in the solutions not imposes them over the top by government,"