Indigenous Lives Matter

WFEA joins the urgent call for racial justice here in Australia and stands in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatters movements.

Over the past week, we have seen tens of thousands of Australians protest online and on the streets to demand an end to the racism and injustice that is killing First Nations people here in Australia.

Women for Election Australia joins the urgent call for racial justice in Australia and stands in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatters movement.

We believe that strong women’s voices, especially Aboriginal, in the halls of power will play a vital role in addressing the many widening gaps between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands and non-Indigenous Australians.

To that end, we have partnered with Women’s Business, an organisation that amplifies Indigenous and Culturally & Linguistically Diverse women in leadership to empower our sisters of colour in Australia.

We recognise that we live and work on stolen land and that Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded. As non-Indigenous settlers, we have benefited and continue to benefit from the dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, no matter where we have come from.

99 = The number of deaths in custody documented by the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

432 = The number of Indigenous Australians who have died in custody since 1991

0 = The number of successful homicide prosecutions of a death in custody in Australia’s criminal courts

2% = The percentage of Australia’s adult population who are First Nations Australians

28% = The percentage of Australia’s prison population who are First Nations Australians

100% = The percentage of youth in detention in the Northern Territory today who are Indigenous Australians.

We stand in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, calling for an end to the brutality that continues in law enforcement.  The appalling racial injustice towards Indigenous people in the media, education, health, housing and the many other public and private sectors contributes to the continuing “slow genocide” of Indigenous peoples.

It’s time for this to end!

We have a long journey ahead of us in the struggle to dismantle institutional racism, and we all have a part to play in this struggle because there can be no justice, including gender justice, without racial justice. 

• Here are some of the ways you can support Aboriginal Lives Matter.
• Here are 10 positive ways to engage. 

This year’s Reconciliation theme is “In this together”. On this journey, we as Australians are all In This Together. Every one of us has a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part, we collectively build relationships and communities that acknowledge, respect, and embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples histories and cultures.

We recently shared an image and quote of Nova Peris OAM, an amazing Aboriginal woman, Olympic medallist and Federal Senator. She stated, “When you value us and respect us, white Australia does not lose their 230 years of history, you gain 50,000 years of history”. Such a beautiful sentiment.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1JI19HWrz/

Donate to Women for Election so that we can train more women, from every corner of Australia, to run for public office. We need your help to address the imbalance.

As women leaders, we pledge our support to end Indigenous deaths in custody and bring about racial justice and equality.

Licia on behalf of the entire Board and Team at Women for Election Australia. 

Kind regards,

Licia Heath
CEO
Women for Election Australia