The truth is that the past is very much with us today, in the continuing devastation of the lives of Indigenous Australians. That devastation cannot be addressed unless the whole community listens with an open heart and mind to the stories of what has happened in the past and, having listened and understood, commits itself to reconciliation. — Bringing Them Home Report2 If we are to find the right pathway forward, the facts about Australia’s past and continuing mistreatment of our peoples must be fully incorporated into Australia’s national narrative. — Wiyi Yani U Thangani Report3 First Nations organisations noted that anti-racism initiatives, and associated multicultural policy and strategies, have so far not adequately addressed this history and its ongoing impacts, despite long-standing advocacy from First Nations communities. First Nations participants said they felt consistently sidelined by policymaking in these areas. First Nations people having been crying out about all of these issues since the beginning – until it’s a women’s issue or multicultural issue people don’t care. We are consistently put to the side. — consultation with First Nations organisation, NARF project, May 2021 – April 2022 First Nations organisations engaged in this process shared their concerns that without recognition of First Nations sovereignty and truth-telling, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to be treated as a ‘problem to be solved’ in terms of policies and programs. Many government departments and agencies operate on a deficit model. Assumptions of deficit have characterised relations between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other Australians since colonisation, with nonIndigenous ‘truths’ underpinning notions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are a ‘problem to be solved’. — submission from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, NARF project, May 2021 – April 2022 The Lowitja Institute, Australia’s National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research, argues that narratives of negativity and failure contribute to the continuation of racebased discourses that have long been used to stigmatise and disenfranchise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.4 Professor Chelsea Watego asserts that the constant characterisation of First Nations peoples as the source of the problems affecting their communities, focusses on the effect rather than the external influences that are the major determinants of these challenges.5 It is argued that these negative characterisations operate to conceal that settler colonisation is responsible for the problems identified and uses these ‘outcomes’ to justify continued interventions and marginalisation. 6 National Anti-Racism Framework Scoping Report 2022 | 50