Synopsis

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an extraordinary united and unifying call and a unique opportunity for a better Australia. It will be talked about at length in the next few years as we move towards a referendum for Constitutional reform. The result will be crucial for child health in this country, so child health professionals need to be informed.

In this Grand Round, we will learn about the Uluru Statement from the Heart from Thomas Mayor, author, union official, Larrakia man, signature to the Uluru Statement, and tireless campaigner for Constitutional reform and Makarrata.

In our hospital 4% of our patients are First Nations children and families, and in this NAIDOC week we celebrate the central importance of their culture to our country.

Speaker

Thomas Mayor is a Torres Strait Islander born on Larrakia country in Darwin.  As an Islander growing up in Darwin, he learned to hunt traditional foods with his father, and he learnt to dance from the Darwin community of Torres Strait Islanders.

In high school, Thomas’ English teacher suggested he should become a writer. Instead, he became a wharf labourer at the age of 17, until he was appointed a union official for the Maritime Union of Australia in his early thirties. In this role Thomas found his voice. As he gained the skills of negotiation and organising in the union movement, he applied those skills to advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples, becoming a signatory to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Following the Uluru Convention in 2017, Thomas was entrusted to carry the sacred canvas of the Uluru Statement. He went on an eighteen-month journey around the country to garner support for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations voice, and a Makarrata Commission for truth-telling and treaty.

Thomas is the author of a beautiful children’s book: Finding Our Heart, illustrated by Blak Douglas on the Uluru statement.  In addition, Thomas has written Freedom Day, a children’s story about Vincent Lingiari and the Wave Hill Walk Off, and Dear Son, letters from Indigenous fathers and their sons.