The education union representing teachers and support staff in non-government Queensland and Northern Territory schools has slammed the Queensland government’s decision to suspend the state’s Truth-Telling and Hearing Inquiry.
Last week, new Queensland Premier David Crisafulli confirmed his government would abolish the state’s Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry and repeal the Path to Treaty Act.
The move has been widely condemned by individuals and groups, including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss, the inquiry’s chair Joshua Creamer and The Healing Foundation, the national body representing Stolen Generations survivors.
On Monday the Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) condemned Crisafulli’s “shameful decision” to halt the inquiry.
IEU-QNT branch secretary, Terry Burke, says the decision was a step backwards from achieving meaningful reconciliation with First Nations peoples.
“It is an utterly shameful decision to halt the inquiry and devastating for First Nations communities to have this long-awaited opportunity for truth, justice and healing revoked,” Burke says.
“First Nations Peoples are yet again having their voices silenced and histories denied.
“If you take issue with the truth being told, you have a serious problem.”
In saying his government “won’t be allowing” truth-telling to go ahead, Crisafulli says his newly elected Queensland government doesn’t believe truth-telling will be something “that unites the community”.
“We’ve made a decision. It’s the right decision, and we stand by it. But I don’t want to cause angst to people.”
The decision is at odds with the recommendations in a report published last week by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which called on governments to recognise the devastating impacts of systemic racism on First Nations Peoples and take urgent access to address it.
The AHRC report says truth-telling, education about historical impacts and a commitment to self-determination are critical to dismantling racism against First Nations Australians.
Burke says the forced cancellation of Queensland’s Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry and Path to Treaty process would prevent better outcomes of First Nations Peoples and denied an accurate picture of the state’s history.
“It was an opportunity for Queenslanders to hear the lived experiences of Elders who were subject to historic colonial policies and practices and from First Nations communities who directly experience the ongoing impacts of colonisation,” he says.
“We urge the new Queensland Premier to reconsider the decision and be on the right side of history by allowing the Inquiry to continue and reinstating the Path to Treaty process.”
