• Noel Pearson

14 January 2010We need to base our future on a recognition of indigenous as well as British heritage, says Noel Pearson at the Sydney Festival

FRIENDS: this evening I want to talk about the hopes we have long harboured for Australia’s future: the renewal and affirmation of our national foundations through the achievement of Reconciliation and an Australian Republic.
As to Reconciliation: I hope for the day when Aboriginal children will have the same expectations of life as their fellow Australians – to develop their unique cultural, social and economic capital – secured by a new framework of Aboriginal rights and responsibilities, embraced in a national settlement.

As to an Australian Republic: I hope for the day when an Australian Republic affirms that our country is built upon two foundation stones: the indigenous heritage, and the British heritage. An Australian Republic affirming our British heritage and the great migration success story that followed, would recognise that which was long denied: this continent was possessed of an ancient civilisation and still is...

Read the full speech

Photo: iStockphoto.com