E&OE...........
I first acknowledge and honour the Ngunnawal people, the traditional owners of the land on which this gathering takes place, Air Marshal and Mrs Evans, my parliamentary colleagues, particularly Philip Ruddock and Wilson Tuckey, President of the Senate, Senator Aden Ridgeway the Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats, Evelyn Scott and Ian Spicer, Fred Chaney, Jackie Huggins, Geoff Clark the Chairman of ATSIC, ladies and gentlemen.
This is a beautiful morning, it';s a stunning Canberra July morning. It';s also a very special occasion. People come here with different emotions and different views about the reconciliation process, but I think we are all bound together with a genuine desire to move it forward in a positive fashion. And Reconciliation Place is designed in that spirit and with that in mind. People will have different views as to how to advance the reconciliation process and there will be a legitimate further debate about the contributions that will need to be made to Reconciliation Place. But there will be no debate about the desirability of placing at the symbolic national centre of the constitutional life of this nation, a special area which not only honours the contribution of indigenous people to this country and their central role in our being as Australian, but also honours the importance of the process of reconciliation. There is no one single thing that can be done that will once and for all reconcile people. It is a process requiring patience and goodwill and acknowledgment of the sadness that people have suffered and the legitimate sense of injustice they feel, but also a desire to emphasise those things that bind us together and to emphasise the common future that all of us have.
And in that spirit, this place does not represent any kind of conclusion of the reconciliation process. It is a contribution and it will develop over time as further slivers are added to depict the stories and the issues that are important to the reconciliation process. It was designed and planned in consultation with the steering committee. And I want to warmly thank in particular, Evelyn Scott, Ian Spicer and Matilda House for the contribution that they have made. We also congratulate the talented design team that developed the overall design, including the architect Simon Kringas, the indigenous artist Sharon Payne and the exhibition design consultant, Alan Vogt.
The slivers acknowledge some of the many indigenous Australians who';ve made a contribution to our national life. Amongst them Cathy Freeman and the first Australian cricket team to tour England in 1868. We honour also the example of Captain Reg Saunders, the first indigenous Australian to be commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army and who was accepted unreservedly by the men who served with him because false values do not flourish amongst frontline soldiers. There are many parts to reconciliation and the central circular mound that rises out of this Reconciliation Place shows the different and unique horizons that exist and that each position offers an individual perspective on reconciliation.
In reaching today I want to thank many people. I want to thank the people who';ve joined in the design process. I want to thank Fred Chaney and Jackie Huggins, the co-conveners of Reconciliation Australia for the leadership role that they have demonstrated. And I also want to thank very warmly the understanding and the cooperation of the Sorry Day Committee and welcome the presence of Audrey Kinnear here today. And to say that we intend in a spirit of understanding and goodwill to work and discuss the future design, the future composition of the slivers, recognising that although there is common goodwill, there are some different perspectives that need to be further discussed. But I think today is a wonderful day for Australia. It gives me on behalf, in a political sense, of the people of Australia who say to all those who';ve come here to Reconciliation Place, will become an important focal point, not only to acknowledge the centrality of the place of the indigenous people in the life of this nation, but also the importance of the ongoing goodwill and commitment of all of the Australian people through the process of reconciliation.
So it is in that spirit, ladies and gentlemen, I declare open Reconciliation Place. I invite you all after the formalities are concluded to observe the slivers and I hope for years to come this will be a gathering point, a focal point of recollection, a focal point of hope and a focal point for Australians of different backgrounds who reflect upon those things that bind us together and give us our common values as Australians. Thank you.
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