The Uluru statement from the heart was our prayer to the Australian people.There was hope in its words.The statement was written with love. It stands as probably the most beautiful unrequited letter of love in Australian political history.For those of us who urged faith, hope and love, there is an account to be given for the hopes raised, the faith urged and the love lost in the referendum.I must account for that. So, three years later, I stand here with great reluctance.What right has anyone to raise hopes when those hopes were so badly misplaced?What right has anyone to offer a vision that turns out to be a mirage?That is the source of my hesitation to speak of these things. But I cannot allow the failure of the referendum to excuse me from my responsibility to the communities who voted yes.What we sought was to secure their future. This is how the statement spoke of their predicament:
double quotation markProportionately, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
