Dr Tamara Mackean
Tamara is a descendent of the Waljen clan of the Wongai Peoples of the Goldfields region in Western Australia. She graduated from University of NSW in 1999 with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and was joint winner with Dr Kelvin Kong of the Alumni Award for Achievement. Tamara is presently a trainee with the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Tamara now lives in Adelaide with her husband and baby son. She works as a Senior Lecturer at Flinders University SA as well as a Board Director for the Central Northern Adelaide Health Service. Tamara is the current Vice President for the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association and works with governments, organisation, communities and individuals to bring about positive change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
What a reconciled Australia looks like to me.
The process of reconciliation is exactly that, a process. It occurs over time with moments of significance interspersed with periods of sustained change. At some point a reconciled state is reached and this not only has major impacts immediately but has a reverberative effect that has far reaching consequences for future generations.
In 1967 Australia reached a significant moment in its journey of reconciliation with the decision to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as citizens of this country. This sought to redress the errors of colonisation as well as set the tone for further engagement and discussion with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples about their future. This and other moments of significance over the last 40 years aimed to take into account the need for reparation of both Indigenous and human rights.
How far from this utopia are we in 2007? Are we further down the track than in 1967, have we progressed in our reparations, is our Country healing?
A reconciled Australia is one where Australians not only rally behind a cause but where they embrace and live the consequences of the changes they produce. One where "sorry" is about compassion and understanding, not of blame and remorse. One where human beings are not afraid to genuinely talk, walk and simply be with one another as individuals and as communities.
A reconciled Australia is one restored to health, one that actively mends the cultural dislocation and fractured spirits of an oppressed minority and does so with the desire to maintain and uphold the oldest continuing living culture in the world. One that feels pride and respect for the uniqueness of Australia's First Peoples which results in real change in the day to day lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Tamara Mackean
