Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Forum: Reflection, solidarity, healing

The IEU’s Michelle Thompson participates in a smoking ceremony at the Forum.

Indigenous unionists from across the country gathered on 3 June for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Forum, where delegates discussed issues including the cultural threat of artificial intelligence, First Nations leadership, and the psychosocial hazards of racism.

Held on Kaurna Country in Adelaide, the conference was a stand-alone part of the 2024 Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Congress, the decision-making forum for Australian unions (see page 9). IEU members Craig Duncan, Kylie Booth-Martinez, and Michelle Thompson – who are also members of the union’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee – represented the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch.

The day began with a Welcome to Country and a healing ceremony by Cliffy ‘Tangku Munaitya’ Wilson, a proud Kaurna, Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, Ngadjuri and Arrernte man.

The healing ceremony was organised to reassure delegates that it’s OK to still feel the pain of last year’s defeated ‘yes’ vote, said ACTU Aboriginal Officer Lara Watson.

The conference was also a way to remind attendees that “the union movement still stands strong with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and is committed to them and the Uluru Statement from the Heart”.

The IEU’s Kylie Booth-Martinez (front row, left) and Craig
Duncan (front row, right) at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Forum.

Healing, learning and hope

The healing ceremony was followed by the Torres Strait Islander Acknowledgment of Country/welcome prayer song and a Maori Acknowledgment of Country, or karakia.

For Thompson, who is an early childhood teacher, it was great to see so many Indigenous peoples from Australia and beyond involved.

The packed program included a presentation on AI and intellectual property which left a strong impression on Duncan, Booth-Martinez and Thompson.

The talk was delivered by Ash Rose, the Director of Equity at the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance. Rose spoke of the risk of AI “stripping our cultural properties and using it”.

Duncan said AI can “replicate images, skin colour, voices”. An Elder’s likeness and language can be used over and over, “even though that Elder may have passed away”, said Duncan.

Rose introduced many delegates to the term “technological colonisation” – when digital space rather than physical space is colonised, said Booth-Martinez. The talk also included a push to lobby for the protection of cultural intellectual property.

Carrying a cultural load

A session on the cultural load Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people carry in the workplace was especially memorable for the IEU delegates.

“Cultural load is the thing that probably spoke out to all of us,” said Thompson, with all three reflecting on their personal experiences of being expected to take on any workplace duty related to Indigeneity – despite the additional time, emotional labour and lack of further remuneration.

Cultural load is “basically when people leave all Black matters to Black people,” said Booth-Martinez.

Booth-Martinez said increasing cultural competency in workplaces is a great start to reducing some of this cultural load, but she emphasised it’s just a start. Duncan said it can’t just be a box you tick once, it must be an ongoing commitment.

The ACTU Forum was an important day for the three IEU delegates, and the fact that it was held on Mabo Day made it even more meaningful. T-shirts, bags and posters were emblazoned with the quote from Indigenous land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo: “It’s not against the law to be in the union.”

For Thompson, the key takeaways from the day were the importance of collective bargaining for cultural causes and the “urgent need for structural and systemic change”.

There was also a collective acknowledgement of the need to not walk away when the going gets tough. After all, said Thompson, “that’s when solidarity means the most”.