Conservative politicians periodially question the practice of beginning public gatherings by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land. The most recent expressions of these opinions met with condemnation that was pretty general, but far from strong enough. An acknowledgment of the traditional owners and ownership of an area where we have the privilege of residing or visiting costs us nothing but strengthens our integrity.
The arguments of these conservative politicians suggest a flippancy bordering on hypocrisy. Supposed yearnings for a similar acknowledgement of a Christian God are hardly to be taken seriously.
They use the same reductio ad absurdum tactic when seeking to decry any form of affirmative action. They generally reject the notion that social disadvantage of any group is attributable to denial of opportunity through discrimination, preferring the view that the poor and marginalised really are inferior.
For several reasons, specific religious recognition at public meetings cannot have the same importance as an acknowledgement of country. First, not all Australians claim allegiance to a Christian deity. Indeed, the analogy is relevant only because Australia's Indigenous peoples have a genuinely spiritual association with the land. By recognising this link, all Australians can all be united in a non-denominational spirituality that fosters our spirits.
Second, justice demands that we make this acknowledgement. Over the last fifty years, dating from at least the 1967 referenda that removed discriminatory mentions of Indigenous people from the Constitution, we have struggled to find appropriate ways of acknowledging the forced alienation of the land. Judicial decisions, legislative responses and administrative programs have been mostly sincere, but clearly imperfect, attempts to redress the wrongs inflicted on the Indigenous peoples. Despite the conservative suspicion of symbolic actions such as treaties and apologies, these are far from being mere tokens. Symbolic actions have the advantage of avoiding legalistic impediments and they express a genuine aspiration for a fairer Australia.
Third, Indigenous stewardship of the land sets an important example for environmental sustainability. Although Europeans have occupied Australia for some 230 years, Aboriginal occupancy stretches back 40,000 years. As a nation, we have much to learn from the special relationship between the people and the land, provided we care to listen. For most Australians, hearing an acknowledgement of country might be one of the few times we are prompted to think about Aboriginal issues. Indigenous people are under-represented in parliament and the media and in socio-economic elites. It is all too easy