National Reconciliation Week is celebrated between 27 May and 3 June every year, commemorating two significant dates in Australian history.

27 May 2012 is the 45th anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which Australians voted to amend our constitution in favour of including Indigenous Australians in reckoning population and allowing Australian parliament to have the power to make laws for Indigenous Australians. The latter amendment permitted parliament to make laws to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

3 June 2012 is the 20th anniversary of the High Court’s decision on the Mabo case, recognising native title in Australia for the first time and acknowledging that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship with the land.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2012 is Let’s Talk Recognition, focusing on how Australians can better recognise each other and the contribution that Indigenous culture and history has made to Australia.

For further information on what’s happening across Australia this week, or to register your own event, visit the National Reconciliation Week website.

Item posted on 29 May 2012.