Invitation from Sandy Hollway AO, Chair
This is a cause which is close to my heart.
When I was a public servant working in the Prime Minister's Department in the 1990s I was given responsibility for two very big matters relating to the place of indigenous people in Australian society. One was coordinating the response of the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and it's hundreds of recommendations for overcoming aboriginal disadvantage in fields ranging from health to housing to education to employment. The second was coordinating the response to the High Court's landmark decision in the Mabo case, which recognised indigenous rights to land. This opened my eyes as an Australian to the depth of the problems facing our indigenous citizens.
The sad truth is that many of the problems I saw at that time remain just as bad. In some areas we may have made progress, but it has been a matter of two steps forward and one step back.
We cannot afford national fatigue on these issues. Australia has to keep working away. We have no choice. We cannot push off to the side the appalling disadvantage of indigenous people in our otherwise generally prosperous and happy society. This is the one great moral issue still afflicting Australia as a country.
Australians are a decent and generous people and want to solve these problems, but they are hard problems to crack
Whatever else is certain, a vital part of the solution will be improving educational opportunities for indigenous Australians. The vision of the ITNewcom Foundation is to help bright young indigenous Australians make a successful transition from school to university and on into the mainstream of Australian life. The measure of success will be the move of an increasing number of indigenous Australians into the professions -- law, engineering, business, indeed across-the-board.
We are not going to change things dramatically overnight. But we will change them step-by-step, person by person, success by success. And in that way we will generate momentum.
In the final analysis, this is not just a personal passion but a national imperative. I hope that you'll become a part of it.
Invitation from Brendan Welsh
Growing up in rural Australia was a great privilege and joy. Wide open spaces, independence, a sense of purpose, and a wonderful community to name a few benefits. However, there was one aspect of my rural upbringing that was not so great and that was the ignorance, indifference and prejudice towards the plight of indigenous Australians. Regretfully, this is still the case in far too many pockets of Australia today.
I first became aware of some of the challenges facing indigenous Australians during my time studying computer science and law at UNSW. The Law Faculty in particular opened my eyes, with its many innovative programs to support Indigenous students. But it was my contact with the indigenous students themselves that had a profound effect on me. I learnt of the many challenges they faced, and that somehow we needed to make it easier for them to get to and make a way through university.
There are many government and private sector initiatives and programs seeking to deal with the massive divide in the living standards of Indigenous and other Australians. One example is the emergence of some very successful secondary school programs, whereby Indigenous Australians are receiving great education in a very supportive environment. I have witnessed this first hand, where my sons attended a school with a number of indigenous students. These indigenous boys are genuine leaders, confident in their place in the world, but at the same time, always loyal and true to their cultural heritage.
The ITNewcom Foundation’s vision is to give Indigenous Australians an opportunity to continue the education journey through University and to see more and more Indigenous Australians joining the ranks of the professions. Ultimately, we would like to see many Indigenous Australians comfortably occupying seats at the boardroom table.
It would be great to think that we could quickly change the many ignorant, indifferent and prejudiced attitudes that exist today. In reality, we will not. However, we must and we will persist. Change may be slow, but it is happening, and it is only a matter of time.
Please join me in supporting this worthy cause. I look forward to working with you to help make a difference to the lives of our first Australians.
