This week we celebrate NAIDOC week — an important time to acknowledge the rich history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
We especially recognise the important theme for 2019 — Voice. Treaty. Truth. that calls on Australians to work together for a shared future. The firm fully supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its call for a First Nations voice enshrined in the Constitution and a Makarrata Commission including truth telling as a means of reconciling First Nations people and other Australians.
Our formal support was published as a joint response earlier this year but we continue to listen and learn as we engage in this important issue and walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
To mark NAIDOC week all our offices shared morning tea provided by indigenous owned and run catering companies and learnt more about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and our firm's response to it. We were invited to listen, learn and participate in the momentous opportunity for all Australians to work towards a better future.
We are also pleased to unveil our new painting by artist Mary Thomas from the Warmun Arts Centre with whom we work closely. This painting celebrates the important connection with Giga Country and was used to mark the granting of Native title to Warmun in May 2019, an occasion for great celebration.
Joanna Renkin, Lander & Rogers' Partner for Pro Bono & Community, said, “We are greatly enriched by the culture and history of our first peoples. We see our relationships across this diverse community as providing us with an opportunity to listen and learn about the richness of culture, Australia's important history, and the continuing contributions made by our First Nations people. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a generous invitation to build a common future with Australia's first peoples — a future for all Australians. As a firm that is genuinely committed to reconciliation we embrace this opportunity to walk together to positively shape our nation."
Lander & Rogers has a long-running, genuine commitment to promoting reconciliation and contributing to Australia’s effort to close the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.
You can read more about the firm's support and promotion of reconciliation in our Reconciliation Action Plan.
