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A new website aimed at driving national truth-telling has been launched thanks in part to early philanthropic support.
Backed by Australian Communities Foundation’s Impact Fund and 10 other ACF Named Funds since early 2022, the Towards Truth website maps laws and government policies that have affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people since 1788. It is the first attempt to document and analyse the full scope and impact of these laws on First Nations communities.
A partnership between the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre (ILC), the project has also been made possible through pro bono support from across the legal field.
The website maps a history of dispossession and disempowerment across four key themes – Kinship, Country, Law and Culture, and People – alongside the ways in which laws have sought to protect and provide for reparation.
Described by Professor Megan Davis (Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous, UNSW and Co-Chair of the Uluru Statement from the Heart) as the ‘engine room of truth-telling’, the project is also testament to the long history of First Nations resistance.
The database speaks to the need for structural reform and the power of law and policy-making to make a difference.
“Before working on Towards Truth, I didn’t have an understanding of the pervasiveness of laws designed to erase First Nations culture,” Towards Truth Project Coordinator, Corey Smith, told the National Indigenous Times.
“From voting rights to participating in court, child removals and suppressing languages, our work shows a history of harmful government decisions that have a lasting impact on families and communities. My work has helped me understand the pressures my own family were under to hide or diminish their Aboriginality.”
Professor Davis said laws and policies analysed through the project demonstrate “the damage of legal exclusion and control”.
“The database speaks to the need for structural reform and the power of law and policy-making to make a difference. Without the kind of structural reform the Uluru Statement from the Heart envisages, truth-telling is meaningless.
“Towards Truth provides context to individual experiences and histories by shining a light on how formal legal processes and bureaucrats drive the direction of communities. It’s a powerful database that shows why a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament is so overdue.”
The website’s launch comes after years of dedicated work from the First Nations-led team, said PIAC Chief Executive Officer, Jonathon Hunyor.
We’re a long way now from when it was just an idea, and philanthropy’s played a vital role in that.
“There’s nothing like this in the world. That’s been one of the reasons why these first years have been such hard work, but we’re now really interested to see how people engage not only nationally but overseas too.
“We’re a long way now from when it was just an idea, and philanthropy’s played a vital role in that.
“The willingness from our funders to recognise the long game and take the risk of our ambitious idea made all the difference, and the support from the ACF Impact Fund gave us that real shot in the arm.”
The website currently includes laws and policies in New South Wales across four themes. The Towards Truth team is now working to secure more funding to cover more topics and jurisdictions.
Learn more: towardstruth.org.au
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