University of Wollongong hosts first National Allyship summit

The Voice referendum was a bitter disappointment for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their allies.

Now the dust has settled, supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart are left wondering what comes next.

The inaugural National Allyship Summit, held in partnership with Woolyungah Indigenous Centre at the University of Wollongong on Thursday (8 August), is an attempt to answer that question.

The gathering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and allies from across the country was held to champion continued allyship on the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The day was opened with a smoking ceremony conducted by University of Wollongong staff members Dr Anthony McKnight of the Awabakal, Gomeroi and Yuin nations, Worimi man Peter Ridgeway and Jerrinja-Yuin man Peter Hewitt.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was first issued to the Australian public in 2017.

It represents the largest ever consensus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on a meaningful model to right the nation’s historic injustices against Indigenous people and begin to close the gaps in health, education and life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Three calls are central to the Uluru statement.

Firstly, for Indigenous people to have a voice on issues that affect them directly.

Second, for Australia, the only colonised nation that has no treaty with its First Nations people, to develop one.

Lastly, for truth-telling to enable the broader community to better understand Australia’s colonial history and how its consequences continue today.

Since the 2023 referendum, Allies for Uluru have continued talks about how to support and progress those core principles – Voice, Treaty and Truth.

Allies are people who support a group of marginalised people, but do not belong to that group.

The group is led by The Fred Hollows Foundation, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, and Oxfam, and backed by a coalition of over 300 member organisations.

More than 250 people registered to attend in person, with additional online registrations.

UOW Vice-president of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement Jaymee Beveridge said the university was proud to welcome leaders from across the country to campus.

“This summit will share ideas and hopes for healing and set us on the path towards realising the power of allyship and standing up for one another.

“There are allies who were hidden pre-referendum and became friends and allies through that process.

“Now we need to talk about what allyship looks like post-referendum.”

The event included keynote speakers such as board director at Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Thomas Mayo and Uluru Dialogue co-chair Pat Anderson.

Wiradjuri man and Uluru Dialogue senior leader Geoff Scott said the summit was an opportunity to recognise the contributions of non-Indigenous Australians to the Yes campaign, and to look to the future.

“The Uluru statement is still there, the message to the Australian people is still there and we will continue that work,” he said.

“It’s a shame; it’s been a great lost opportunity for the country and many people are still not aware, I think, of what the significance was.

“The venom and toxicity around it is a stain on the whole country and it will be there forever, but we have to move on as best we can.

“There are still Aboriginal people and a whole generation of kids out there that need our help.

“All of our fates are tied to each other and we need to move forward together.

“That’s the work ahead of us, and it’s too important to be left to politicians.”