National Reconciliation Week Breakfast

Seeing a great turnout with staff and community members alike participating in the morning’s events was inspiring.

Aunty Viv welcomed everyone with a beautiful Welcome to Country that resonated with her message: “This is home past, home today and home in the future.” This phrase captures the ethos of reconciliation as we come together to share culture and knowledge.

The theme of NRW 2023 is Be a Voice for Generations — an opportunity for all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways. We were moved by our keynote speakers, Ken Wyatt AM and Craig Foster AM, who spoke about the Voice to Parliament referendum and the history of Australia’s reconciliatory efforts.

Dave Foster, in particular, spoke of “a nation with a soul should be built on truth and justice,” inspiring us to look to our past to build a better future.

MercyCare supports the Voice to Parliament and the alteration of the Australian Constitution that allows for a representative body providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations with a Voice to the Commonwealth Parliament.

Our mission and values were echoed throughout the virtual breakfast, from our Early Learning Centres to the stories in the Kimberley, where we have our Aboriginal Short Stay Program in Broome and Derby.

A special thanks go to the Aboriginal Pathways and Champion Centre teams for coordinating such a successful event.

If you wish to gain a better understanding of the Voice to Parliament, begin by reading the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Further resources to assist you in forming your own opinion can be found here.

If you missed out on joining us at our NRW breakfast, you can watch the NRW Virtual Breakfast presentation below.