World Council of Churches

Press Release

4 March 1998

WCC GENERAL SECRETARY SPEAKS OUT AGAIN ON ABORIGINAL RIGHTS

Despite recent changes made to proposed legislation about to go before the Australian Parliament, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, has warned that the fundamental issues remain the same and there can be no compromise on matters of discrimination.

During a visit to Australia last November, the WCC General Secretary attracted nationwide attention for his forthright remarks on the controversial topic of land rights for Australia's Indigenous Aborginal Peoples. Then, Dr Raiser said proposed legislation seemed to play on the fears of the white-majority electorate and amounted to racial discrimination.

In a statement from his Geneva office, which will also be distributed by the National Council of Churches in Australia, the WCC General Secretary has appealed to Australian parliamentarians "to reflect deeply on these issues which have the potential to alienate Australians from each other".

The full text of Dr Raiser's statement follows:

"Following my recent visit to Australia I continue to watch the development of the debate on Native Title legislation. I am aware that the parliamentary debate will resume next week. Despite the changes to the text of the legislation I believe the fundamental issues remain exactly the same. There is still the need to affirm that there can be no reconciliation without justice. While not ignoring the rights of pastoralists there is also the necessity to ensure that nothing happens to damage further the rights of Aboriginal people for whom land is an essential element of communal identity and intimately related to spiritual well-being. For that reason alone nothing must be done which erodes the legitimacy of independent Native Title.

The days ahead will be an important opportunity to emphasise that the defence of human rights goes beyond what can be legally defined; that no legislation is acceptable which would serve to extinguish the rights of one sector of the community; and that there can be no compromise on issues of discrimination.

The World Council of Churches joins the Australian churches in urging all parliamentarians to reflect deeply on these issues which have the potential to alienate Australians from each other.

The WCC has followed the debates on land issues in Australia for over thirty years. Our interest remains unabated. We will continue to be in solidarity with Australian Aboriginal peoples as they seek a fair go. We stand also with the churches in Australia as they play their part in addressing these issues where basic human values are at stake."

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.