National Reconciliation Week 2025
“This year’s theme, Bridging Now to Next calls us to connect the truth of where we are with the future we must build together. That bridge is made of action.
It’s in that spirit that I acknowledge the work of April Lawrie, South Australia’s inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, and commend the release of her final report, Holding on to Our Future.
This landmark report represents two years of deep listening with Aboriginal children, families and communities. It offers 48 findings and 32 recommendations that create a clear path forward: to reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the child protection system and ensure they grow up strong in family, community, and culture.
Bridging now to next means embedding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle fully and faithfully into legislation, systems, and practice. It means accountability that is visible, not promised. It means ensuring children’s best interests are at the centre, and that ‘active efforts’ are made real.
The government’s initial steps of investing in Family Group Conferencing and establishing Wakwakurna Kanyini as a community-controlled peak body are welcome. But Reconciliation demands more than progress. It demands transformation.
I also warmly welcome Dale Agius as the incoming Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People. His leadership in establishing the South Australian Voice to Parliament demonstrated his capacity to lead systemic change grounded in cultural authority and community voice. Commissioner Agius is well placed to lead this work for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children across South Australia.
As Acting Commissioner for Children and Young People, I stand in solidarity with Commissioner Agius, Aboriginal children and families. The path forward must be walked with courage. We must break the cycle.
This National Reconciliation Week, bridging now to next means recognising that getting it right for Aboriginal children and young people is not just a moral obligation it is the foundation for a better future for all.”
Read the full statement here
