First published in The Age

The PM has made a move, but issue of an apology remains to be dealt with, writes Patrick Dodson.

THE Prime Minister's announcement that he will hold a referendum on the inclusion of a new statement of reconciliation as part of a preamble to the existing constitution was generally seen as a positive step.

It came from a Prime Minister who has spent his entire political career denying the position of the indigenous people of this nation and seeking to relegate us to irrelevancy within the same constitution through mainstreaming polices to assimilate us into the national landscape.

When a neighbour who over the years has chosen to ignore your morning greeting of welcome, has complained about the noise of your parties and your relatives parking on the lawn in front of his house knocks on your door and makes a friendly gesture, only an ignorant person would scorn the overture with suspicion and disdain.

But your spouse could be forgiven for counselling caution before accepting an invitation from your neighbour to share a barbecue in the local park.

Australians should be pleased that the Prime Minister has finally acknowledged his failure to comprehend the unique position of indigenous people within the nation and given tacit recognition to the aspirations of Australians of goodwill who have demanded a just and lasting resolution to the unfinished business that exists between us as peoples in a shared land.

But this is not a week of episodes of Home and Away, where a recalcitrant unsocial character finally sees the error of their ways and by Friday night's episode falls into line with the social norms of Summer Bay.

The Prime Minister's speech at the Sydney Institute on Thursday should be seen as the first step in what will be a long walk to a resolution of the things that have divided us as a nation. It presents as the first brick of opportunity to build a living monument that will stand as a testament to our maturity as a nation. It also starts to underline that we are capable of recognising the failure to deal with the unfinished business between us justly. This could be a spill-point opportunity on the way to enshrining within the constitution the rights, responsibilities and role of indigenous Australians.

An election date will be announced in coming days and the responses from all the parties to the Prime Minister's announcement gives hope of a critical bipartisan approach to the matters covered by John Howard's speech and to any necessary referendum. Good faith and goodwill in future negotiations are going to be critical if we are to go forward properly.

The challenge for the nation now is to look to how these final chapters of the unfinished business book can be written so that the end reflects a just outcome for indigenous people and provides a sense of achievement and celebration for all of us as uniquely Australian.

The dialogue must now begin. A dialogue that is inclusive, constructive and premised on the nature of our listening hearts, not on the search for a minimalist outcome that provides token justice and recognition for indigenous people while betraying the millions of Australians who want to witness and experience true and lasting reconciliation.

The task before us is national reconciliation. The road ahead will require us to be truthful, informed and diligent about the steps needed to achieve the new future. For some Australians, the apology question must be tackled and should be dealt with immediately after the election process is completed, no matter who wins.

The continuing disadvantage in health, housing and education suffered by indigenous citizens must be dealt with by way of reform of the agency culture responsible for the delivery of services and the resourcing of the indigenous community to develop best-practice models for their needs.

The recognition of indigenous people's rights and responsibilities within the constitution and the incorporation of the symbols of our law and culture within the Western citizenship praxis and its symbols of the nation must be negotiated towards mutual and respectful accommodations.

Our national ingenuity must be brought to bear in the negotiation and dialogue. This is not the Prime Minister's reconciliation but if he seeks ownership, all power to him. But there are good minds and good hearts in every corner of the nation, so let us use this opportunity to bring them all to bear on this national task and let us look to the recently passed UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights to guide us on the principles.

When we as a nation are able to rise like a flock of brolgas from the wetlands plain of Arnhem Land — in unison and single purpose — then and only then will we be inclined to feel relaxed and comfortable sharing the barbecue in the park with our neighbour.

Patrick Dodson was chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation from its inception in 1991 until 1997.