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National Reconciliation Week

Australia has been celebrating National Reconciliation Week from 27 May to 3 June, every year for the past 20 years. National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

National Reconciliation Week commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – The 1967 Referendum on 27 May 1967, acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the High Court Mabo decision on 3 June 1992.

The 1967 Referendum was a landmark achievement for Indigenous Australians. Following decades of Indigenous and non-Indigenous activism, over 90% of all Australians voted in favour of amending two sections of the Australian Constitution.

Many Indigenous people regard the 1967 Referendum as a symbolic turning point, revealing a widespread desire for Indigenous equality in Australia.

We encourage you to learn more about the 1967 Referendum. You can find out more at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and Australians Together website. 

Visit Reconciliation WA to find out more about this year's theme and how to get involved. 

NATIONAL SORRY DAY

National Sorry Day is held on 26 May each year to acknowledge and recognise the generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children separated from their families and communities.

On 26 May 1997, the ‘Bringing Them Home’ report was tabled in federal parliament. ‘Bringing Them Home’ is the final report of the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and was conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now called the Australian Human Rights Commission) between 1995 and 1997.

On 26 May 1998, the first National Sorry Day was held to commemorate the anniversary of the report and remember the grief, suffering and injustice experienced by the stolen generations.

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