Abstarr Consulting - TV: ‘True Reconciliation Requires a Treaty’

TV: ‘True Reconciliation Requires a Treaty’ – IQ2 Debate

Does true reconciliation in this country need a treaty? That's the proposition for this IQ2 Debate out of The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.

Posted on: January 31, 2014

By: Gregory Phillips

Will a treaty change the way we do government in this country? Is it something we should be scared of? What does a treaty deliver?

There are currently about 800 regional agreements with indigenous people across this country. They are, in effect, localised treaties. Do we need a universal agreement as well?

As one of the panellists Anthropologist Peter Sutton, arguing against the motion warns ‘be careful what you wish for’. His argument is that a universal agreement would reinforce the notion of race as a legal status in our country’s legal system.

Watch on ABC TV, Big Ideas

"Greg was a fantastic facilitator for our work. He encouraged and elicited strong engagement from participants in both large and small forums, and was able to expertly guide a range of discussions on complex and sensitive material."

Martin Rocks
Director, Indigenous Health Division
Commonwealth Department of Health

"Greg, you were superb... You brought a splendid mix of expert knowledge, empathy, and the ability to listen. You also handled the Q&A sessions with the panels extremely well, and kept the conversation at the right respect-based level. I look forward to our next opportunity to meet."

His Excellency Paul Maddison
High Commission of Canada

"Australia should listen to impressive and strong Aboriginal younger leaders and scientists like Gregory Phillips"

Emeritus Professor Fiona Stanley
The University of Western Australia and former Australian of the Year

"A remarkable…and talented thinker and writer in the field."

Dr Jackie Huggins
Congress of Australia’s First Peoples

"Thank you for your presentation at the Koori Justice Forum last week. It was so powerful, and just gave us all a bigger view and slightly different language for what we're all trying to do. It really opened our eyes."

Aunty Lois Peeler
Principal, Worawa Aboriginal College and Chair, Eastern Metro Koori Justice Advisory Committee

"Every medical school dean globally should read this thesis."

Professor John O’Neil
Dean of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Canada from the examiner’s report for Gregory’s Phd thesis

"Post Senior Leaders Forum I have heard from so many people that yours was the most influential and important talk of any SLF. It’s started so many conversations!"

Stacey Giles
Principal Executive Officer (Cultural Capability)
Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services

"We support Gregory as a leading expert in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curricula development and inter-professional education… He is also a nationally recognised advocate on racism, cultural safety and diversity with professional and personal investment in everything he does…. IAHA highly recommends Abstarr to any stakeholder who wants to invest in a highly skilled, knowledgeable, respected and experienced consultancy that truly values the cultural, spiritual, physical, emotional and social factors that influence their work to ensure sustainable successful outcomes."

Donna Murray 
CEO, Indigenous Allied Health Australia

"Thank you Greg for your outstanding facilitation of our planning retreat. You guided us superbly in our deep thinking and strategic discussions about self-determination, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, transformational paradigms, values, cultural safety, and addressing racism and white privilege."

Professor Andrew Gunstone
Executive Director, Moondani Toombadool Centre, Swinburne University

"Just wanted to also say your answer on why it's ok to call people black and white was outstanding! So clear and to the point."

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Webinar

"Just thank you for fantastic and brave and honest talk. Really excellent."

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Webinar

"Found the presentation thought provoking, and most informative."

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Webinar