Reconciliation Tasmania

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Reconciliation Tasmania

Reconciliation Tasmania is the statewide body promoting reconciliation for all Tasmanians.

We build relationships across the Tasmanian community, facilitate education opportunities for all and collaborate closely with Tasmanian Aboriginal communities to celebrate history and culture and work to close the gap of disadvantage. We are a not-for-profit social enterprise deriving operational funding from consultancy services, with project funding sourced through grant programs, funding bodies and philanthropic endeavour. In 2015, Bill Lawson was the first Tasmanian to take a seat on the Board of Reconciliation Australia. Amongst other things, he learned that all States except Tasmania have had State Reconciliation Councils affiliated with Reconciliation Australia since the bridge walks of 2000. The Reconciliation Council of Tasmania was founded on August 9, 2017 a significant date to launch, the United Nations Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples - IDWIP.

12/10/2026

MEMBER NETWORKING EVENT + AGM – IN-PERSON SOLD OUT!
💻 Join us online – registrations are still open!
We're delighted by the strong interest in our upcoming Sharing Best Practice: Reconciliation in the Workplace networking event.

While in-person places are now fully booked, we'd love you to join us online for this important conversation.

Hear from Tasmanian organisations as they share their experiences, challenges and practical approaches to progressing reconciliation in their workplaces.

It's a great opportunity to learn from others, share ideas and explore how we can turn good intentions into meaningful action.

📅 Wednesday 11 November 2026
🕓 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm (AEDT)
💻 Online livestream – FREE
👉 Register to join us online:

https://events.humanitix.com/member-networking-event-agm
We welcome members, supporters and anyone interested in progressing reconciliation in Tasmania.

29/09/2026

Join us for our next Reconciliation Tasmania Member Networking Event

We’re bringing RT members together face-to-face to connect, share and learn from each other about progressing reconciliation in the workplace.

Facilitated by Rachel Dunn from Jenname Consulting, the session will explore different approaches to reconciliation — from RAPs to alternative models — and hear directly from organisations about what has worked, the challenges they’ve faced and what they’ve learned along the way.

We’ll finish with an interactive networking activity, creating an opportunity to share experiences, build connections and learn from others across the RT member network.

The event will also include our Annual General Meeting, where we’ll reflect on the past year, look ahead to what’s next and share how your membership supports reconciliation work across Tasmania.

We are also pleased to offer regional members and non-members online access to this important conversation via the link below.

📅 Wednesday 11 November
🕓 4.00pm–6.00pm
📍 83 Melville St, Hobart + live streaming for regional members

Register Here: https://rectas.com.au/events

19/09/2026

Vale Aunty Patsy Cameron

We send our deepest condolences to the family of Aunty Patsy Cameron, and to the many members of community whose lives she touched.

We honour her dedication and vision towards building new relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Tasmania, based on bringing forth the truths of the past and their continuing impacts in the present, and in recognising and uplifting the enduring culture and leadership of Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Her work in founding Mannalargenna Day remains a generous offering of truth-telling that continues to deepen understanding of and respect for Tasmanian Aboriginal history, culture and knowledge. The many books she authored are another example of her generosity in sharing knowledge through story with us all.

Aunty Patsy served on the Board of Reconciliation Tasmania until 2023, bringing an unwavering commitment to truth and equity for First Peoples.

Aunty Patsy leaves an inspiring legacy of achievements and contributions spanning cultural leadership, education and advocacy — but it is also her kindness to all whom she encountered that will never be forgotten.

15/09/2026

SENATOR HANSON’S COMMENTS
Reconciliation Tasmania unequivocally condemns the resurfaced comments made by Senator Pauline Hanson about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

These comments are utterly racist, totally incorrect, deeply offensive and completely unacceptable. They demean Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and perpetuate harmful stereotypes and racism that continue to cause real harm in our communities.

Australia is home to the oldest continuing cultures on Earth. These cultures, histories, knowledge and achievements should be recognised and respected, not diminished or used to create division.

There is no place for racism in our political debate or in our communities.

Standing against racism requires more than words. It requires us to call it out whenever we see or hear it, including when it comes from those in positions of public influence. We must challenge racism in all its forms, whether overt, structural or dismissed as “casual” and refuse to allow it to be normalised.

Ignorant and inflammatory statements such as those made by Senator Hanson are far from the full story of how deeply entrenched racism is in this country. Australia’s National Anti-Racism Framework recognises that racism operates at individual, institutional and systemic levels, and that addressing it is a shared responsibility.

Reconciliation Tasmania stands with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who call Tasmania home.

We call on all Australians to reject racism, division and hatred, and instead choose respect, truth and humanity.

06/07/2026

This week is , from 5 to 12 July, and the theme is 50 Years of Deadly, recognising five decades of strength, resilience, leadership and achievement by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

It’s an important time to reflect on the Elders and Communities who have shaped the NAIDOC Week movement, and also to think about the culture, connection and community that continue to lead the way.

NAIDOC Week is also an invitation for all Australians to celebrate the world's oldest continuing cultures, to increase our understanding, and acknowledge the important contributions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make, in the past, now and in the shared future.

If you're looking for a meaningful way to get involved and learn more, we encourage you to attend a NAIDOC Week event near you. From community celebrations and cultural activities to exhibitions, workshops and family events, there's something happening somewhere near you.

Have a look at the online listing on our website and find an event to join. https://rectas.com.au/naidoc-week

01/07/2026

Reconciliation in Tasmania is at a turning point. Join us.

Across our 2025 and 2026 National Reconciliation Week breakfast series, something became unmistakably clear: there is a strong and genuine appetite in Tasmania for a new understanding of reconciliation, one that is honest about our history, and informed by truth-telling from Tasmanian Aboriginal leaders and Community members.

That shift didn't simply happen. It came from listening, from the guidance of Aboriginal Community leaders, and from organisations choosing to show up and take meaningful action.

Organisational membership of Reconciliation Tasmania is an invitation to be part of that work with support, connection, and purpose. It's your organisation making a genuine commitment to a more just and equitable Tasmania, for everyone, now and for the generations that follow.

Membership runs 1 July to 30 June. There's no better time to join than right now.

Be part of meaningful change. Join today.
https://rectas.com.au/the-reconciliation-collective

05/06/2026

Truth. Reckoning. Change. Reconciliation in Tasmania: A New Understanding and Approach.

National Reconciliation Week has been a time of reckoning with truth and accountability, led by powerful voices sharing honest, and at times challenging perspectives that call us toward the change we know is urgently needed. Our final breakfast, held on Wednesday in Launceston on Kanamaluka/River Tamar was a fitting end to such a significant week, with 300 people coming together at The Tailrace Centre.

Bianca Templar opened the morning with a Welcome to Country that moved us all, warmly sharing her personal connections to Country, culture and family to ground us and set the tone for everything that followed.

We were honoured to hear from Tom Teniswood, who shared what guided him and Jane to hand 110 hectares of their East Coast property to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania in 2019, the first private land handback in Tasmania. A tangible, real example of what reconciliation looks like in action, not just in words.

Proud Palawa man and business leader Graeme Gardner responded to Tom and brought his own lived experience and wisdom, articulating just how much the story of the first land return by Tom and Jane Teniswood meant for his Community.

And DENNI, joined by the choir from St Patrick’s College, gave a performance that connected us all and reminded us of our shared humanity. Emotional, inspiring, and deeply powerful, she told stories through song, sharing pride in her Community and culture. Her music, woven through rap, electronic and acoustic sounds, carried a clear and necessary message: that a respectful relationship between Tasmanian Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal Tasmanians is not only possible, but essential. And it must be built on truth, accountability, and honesty.

To everyone who gave their time, shared their personal experiences, and came along with open minds, thank you. To our incredible sponsors: your support made this event, and our whole program across the week, possible. We know that for you, this work is so much more than one week a year. Thank you.

Truth. Reckoning. Change. For non-Aboriginal Tasmanians, this is what we must commit to. Together, we can make real change happen.

📷 Minch Media

02/06/2026

Truth. Reckoning. Change.

Yesterday, around 200 people came together in Pataway/Burnie for a moving National Reconciliation Week breakfast and a program of deeply powerful voices of truth and reckoning.

MC Teeny Brumby - Mayor of Burnie guided us through the morning which opened with a Welcome to Country from Karen Smart, grounding us all in connection to place and purpose for the morning to come.

Dr Ian Sale shared the story behind last year's handing back of land at Dempster Creek in Loongana to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania: a tangible example of what reconciliation looks like when it goes beyond words and into action.

Dewayne Everettsmith's words of truth and lived experience left the room in no doubt: a new approach to reconciliation is needed, one where non-Aboriginal people take responsibility for changing the systems that have failed First People and continue to diminish as us individuals, as a society and as Tasmanians. He closed with a song that moved the room in the way only music can.

DENNI’s powerful performances were story-telling through song, sharing pride in culture and Community but also messages of the need for relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people based on accountability, humanity and respect.

To everyone who joined us: thank you. Being part of this critical conversation really matters, and yesterday you showed us that there is an appetite for change. Together we must build a more just and equitable Tasmania, for now and for future generations - so that all can thrive.

To our valued sponsors, whose support makes these events possible: thank you, for partnering with us and supporting our work. And to our guest speakers and all who participated: we are grateful for your openness and honesty in sharing your truths and pointing the way forward.

The conversation continued this morning in Launceston on Kanamaluka/River Tamar. Stay tuned for the photos, coming soon.

📷 Minch Media

28/05/2026

On Wednesday, almost 1000 people came together for what can only be described as a morning of reckoning.

On the first day of National Reconciliation Week 2026, the first in our series of NRW breakfasts was moving, powerful and at times uncomfortable. But discomfort, when met with honesty and a genuine commitment to accountability, can be a space where real change begins. And change to the story of reconciliation in Tasmania is urgently needed.

The morning opened with a Welcome to Country from Trish Hodge, grounding us in place and purpose. This event could not begin without honouring the legacy and cultural leadership of Craig Everett and the significance of his contribution to strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Tasmania. Led with strength by Trish, this included a performance from DENNI and brought the whole room together in tribute .

The theme of the morning was: Truth. Reckoning. Change. Reconciliation in Tasmania: A New Understanding and Approach. This was addressed in a panel discussion, chaired with reflection and care by Sinsa Mansell and Ryk Goddard, who brought their own strength and lived experiences to the conversation. Discussion covered the breadth of where we are, and where we need to go. A very big thank you to our panel co-chairs and panellists Rodney Gibbins, Alison Overeem, Prof Tim McCormack, and Cody Gangell-Smith, for sharing their truths, and to MC Rob Valentine for holding the space so well.

The Hon Bridget Archer MP, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, delivered a response to the panel for the audience to consider, and then DENNI returned for a rousing performance, joined by the choir from St Patrick's College, Launceston.

The morning left us with much to reflect on, and a lot to act on. There is a clear need for a new understanding and a renewed approach to reconciliation here in Tasmania. Yesterday showed us the appetite among the wider community is there.

Thank you to our valued sponsors, to the students from Elizabeth College who volunteered as our ushers, and to everyone who joined us at MyState Bank Arena to be part of this important conversation.

📷 Photos by Jillian Mundy

26/05/2026

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to book tickets for our National Reconciliation Week breakfasts in Pataway/Burnie and Launceston on Kanamaluka/River Tamar.

This year our theme is: Truth. Reckoning. Change. Reconciliation in Tasmania: A New Understanding and Approach.

In Tasmania, reconciliation can't mean business as usual. Our history demands something more honest, a real reckoning with the past and a genuine commitment to what must come next.

At these breakfasts, Tasmanian Aboriginal leaders and non-Aboriginal Tasmanians will share stories of truth and challenge, action and hope. They'll speak to the question at the heart of it all: what does reconciliation actually mean for Tasmania, today and into the future?

These events aren't about ticking boxes or comfortable platitudes. They're an opportunity to really listen, to sit with difficult truths, and to be part of an important conversation that will shape a new understanding of reconciliation in this state. We invite you to be there, not as an observer, but as a participant in a conversation that matters.

🔸 Pataway/Burnie: Tuesday 2 June | Burnie Arts Centre
🔸 Launceston on Kanamaluka/River Tamar: Wednesday 3 June | Tailrace Centre

Book a table or tickets, but make sure you do it now - today is your last chance. https://events.humanitix.com/host/reconciliation-tasmania

Address

Hobart, TAS
7005

Opening Hours

9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61428335535

Website

https://events.humanitix.com/member-networking-event-agm, https://rectas.com.au/

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