By Callen Sorensen Karklis
On National Sorry Day, May 26, 2025, we reflect on the enduring struggle for First Nations justice, a fight my Quandamooka relatives have carried since colonisation scarred our lands. In 1988, at the Barunga Festival, then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke pledged a treaty with First Nations peoples to mark 200 years since British arrival. This promise sparked hope but remains unfulfilled, a symbol of broken commitments.
The Hawke government took steps toward Indigenous self-determination by establishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 1990. ATSIC replaced the National Aboriginal Conference (NAC), a Fraser-era body from 1977, which itself succeeded the Whitlam government’s National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC) of 1973. The NACC, with 41 elected Indigenous delegates, advised the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, offering a voice for our communities. Yet, these bodies often faced challenges in translating consultation into real power.
Hope for a treaty faded when Paul Keating replaced Hawke as Prime Minister in 1991, shifting government priorities. The Howard government’s abolition of ATSIC in 2005, amid allegations of corruption, further silenced Indigenous voices. Its replacement, the National Indigenous Council (NIC), was a short-lived, government-appointed body that dissolved in 2008. The Rudd-Gillard Labor government established the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, but it was defunded under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Coalition (2013–2022). While Abbott and Turnbull briefly supported the Indigenous Advisory Council, it too ended under Morrison.
A shift came as states and territories, often under Labor governments, pursued treaty and truth-telling processes from 2016 onward. Yet, progress stalled in places like Queensland and the Northern Territory when conservative governments reversed these commitments, leaving First Nations peoples, including my Quandamooka kin, without a clear path forward. The Albanese government’s 2023 Voice Referendum, intended to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the Constitution, was rejected by 60% of voters after a divisive campaign fueled by misinformation.
As Quandamooka people, we stand resilient, carrying the stories of our ancestors who fought for justice since colonial times. National Sorry Day reminds us of the Stolen Generations and the unkept promises of treaty and recognition. We call for truth-telling, unity, and a renewed commitment to justice – a future where our voices are heard, and our sovereignty is respected.
Colonisation and Resilience
For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples thrived across Australia, their nations rich with distinct cultures, languages, and traditions. My Quandamooka people, from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) and Moorgumpin (Moreton Island), lived in harmony with our lands, guided by our totems – the dolphin for the Ngugi clan and the carpet snake for the Nunukul and Goenpul clans. Despite the colonial myth of terra nullius – a false claim of an “empty land” – our peoples traded with neighbours, including the Yolngu of Arnhem Land who connected with Makassan traders from Indonesia as early as the 1600s.
This vibrant world was shattered when British explorer James Cook charted the coast in 1770, followed by the First Fleet’s arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788. Colonisation (1788–1901) unleashed the Australian Frontier Wars (1788–1930s), a brutal period of dispossession, disease, and violence. Across Australia, an estimated 20,000–30,000 First Nations peoples were killed, from a pre-colonial population of up to 750,000. In Tasmania, entire communities were decimated.
In Quandamooka country, east of what became Brisbane, conflict erupted. Around 1832–1833, British soldiers massacred 15–20 Ngugi people on Moorgumpin after tensions over the abduction of Aboriginal girls, with fighting spilling onto Minjerribah. Like many First Nations, Quandamooka peoples faced forced assimilation, exposed to alcohol, disease, and colonial policies that confined them to missions and stations, stripping away autonomy.
Even after these atrocities, exploitation continued. On Minjerribah, a so-called “benevolent asylum” gave way to corporate sand mining for minerals, scarring our lands from the 1940s until 2019. Yet, our Quandamooka spirit endures. On National Sorry Day 2025, we honour our ancestors’ resilience, demanding recognition of these truths and justice for the ongoing impacts of colonisation.
Exploitation and the Pathway to Civil Rights
The formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 entrenched the White Australia Policy, leaving First Nations peoples, including my Quandamooka kin on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), with few rights. On Minjerribah, our families endured near-slave labor at the Benevolent Asylum (1846–1946), working for meager wages. My great-great-grandfather, Alfred Martin, led a 25-year campaign (1919–1944) for fair wages and workers’ rights, laying the foundation for Quandamooka activism.
Despite First Nations soldiers like Richard Martin, who died in France in 1918, serving bravely in World War I, systemic racism persisted. Post-World War II, Quandamooka activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), a distant cousin, rose to prominence. Barred from mainstream political parties, she joined the Communist Party to fight for Aboriginal rights and the end of the White Australia Policy. As state secretary of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) in the 1960s, she lobbied Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and Harold Holt. Her efforts helped secure the 1967 Referendum, where 90% of Australians voted to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution – a historic turning point.
Oodgeroo’s activism extended to politics, running unsuccessfully for the Queensland state seat of Greenslopes in 1969 (37% two-party-preferred vote) and Redlands in 1977 (6.4% for the Democrats). She led the “Leave Straddie Unabridged” campaign (1978–1986) against sand mining, a fight that resonated during the conservative Joh Bjelke-Petersen era. Later, as an ATSIC councillor (1990–1993), she served as an elder, academic, and voice for Quandamooka country until her passing. Today, a state electorate honours her legacy.
The 1992 Mabo decision under Prime Minister Paul Keating sparked the Native Title Act 1993, enabling land councils like the Quandamooka Land Council. My distant cousin Ian Delaney, a former laborer turned public servant, played a key role. As ATSIC Queensland Metropolitan Zone Commissioner (1990–1998) and a board member of the Quandamooka Land Council and other Indigenous organisations, he drove native title claims with Redland Shire Council (1995–1999). In 2011, the Bligh Labor government and Redlands Mayor Melva Hobson recognised Quandamooka native title, aiming to end sand mining and shift Minjerribah toward eco-tourism.
However, the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), formed in 2011, faced challenges. Family disputes, lack of community consultation, and concerns over land management echoed issues that plagued ATSIC. These tensions led some Quandamooka people, including my relatives, to question the 2023 Voice Referendum, despite its national support and leadership by Quandamooka man Dean Parkin. Another cousin, Leanne Enoch, a former teacher and unionist, became Queensland’s Algester MP (2015–present) and Treaty Minister (2020–2024). She championed the Path to Treaty laws, passed unanimously in 2023, but the Crisafulli LNP government’s 2024 repeal – mirrored by the Northern Territory’s rollback of treaty efforts – halted progress.
On National Sorry Day 2025, we honour Quandamooka trailblazers like Alfred, Oodgeroo, and Ian, whose fight for justice inspires us. Despite setbacks, we demand a renewed path to treaty and truth-telling, rooted in our resilience and sovereignty.
Closing the Gap: A Call for Justice and Opportunity
On National Sorry Day 2025, we reflect on the resilience of Australia’s nearly one million (984,000) First Nations peoples, whose populations are slowly recovering despite the scars of colonisation. My Quandamooka kin, like many, carry mixed heritages and face intergenerational trauma, yet our identity endures. However, stark gaps in living standards persist between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians, with no national treaty to address these injustices, despite the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017.
A federal treaty, inspired by New Zealand’s model, alongside a Truth and Healing “Makarrata Commission,” could empower First Nations peoples to shape policies affecting our lives. Learning from the successes and failures of bodies like ATSIC, such a process must be grassroots-driven, respecting the unique cultures and sovereignty of over 250 tribal nations, including my Quandamooka people. The 2023 Voice Referendum’s mixed reception – supported widely but questioned in communities like ours – underscored the need for local autonomy in decision-making.
The Albanese Labor government, with its parliamentary majority and potential support from independents and Greens, has a historic opportunity to right past wrongs. But without genuine community engagement, any effort risks repeating past mistakes.
First Nations peoples face systemic challenges:
• Health: We live, on average, 10 years less than other Australians, with higher rates of chronic diseases (2.3% more likely), diabetes (3 times more likely), and mental health issues.
• Housing: Many endure overcrowded or inadequate housing, especially in remote areas, with 40% lacking essentials like clean water or food, compared to 11% of other Australians.
• Income and Employment: Our median income is 60% lower than non-Indigenous Australians, and underemployment remains high despite rising employment rates.
• Education: While 57% of First Nations people aged 20 and over have a Year 12 or higher qualification, we represent just 0.7% of senior leadership roles.
• Disability: We are more likely to live with disabilities, with 15% providing unpaid care, especially Indigenous women (18% vs. 12% for men).
• Justice System: Indigenous youth are 24 times more likely to be in detention, making up 53–55% of detained youth. First Nations adults are 13 times more likely to be incarcerated, comprising 27% of the prison population and 34% of female prisoners.
As Quandamooka people, we stand firm in our call for justice. National Sorry Day reminds us of the Stolen Generations and ongoing disparities. A treaty and truth-telling process, grounded in respect for our sovereignty, is not just an opportunity – it’s a necessity to close the gap and honour our ancestors’ fight for a better future.
Also by Callen:
2025 Federal Election Analysis – Lessons for Greens and Coalition
Callen Sorensen Karklis was the 2024 QLD State candidate for Oodgeroo. He holds a Bachelor of Government and International Relations from Griffith University and Business Diploma from QLD TAFE. He currently studies a Cert 4 in Youth Work. He has worked in retail, media advertising, union and government roles. He has also been involved with Bayside Crime Stoppers in 2015-2016 and was on the Griffith Student Representative Council as the Indigenous Officer during the Pandemic in 2021. He also has been a cohost on 4ZZZ radio programs on Workers Power and Indigi Briz. He was also a coordinator for Jos Mitchell’s Leading Change Team during the 2024 Redland City Council elections. He used to be a local organiser in the Labor Party during the Newman and early Palaszczuk eras and had advised TEAL campaigns.
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Dear Michael, perhaps a lot of your members, readers, guest authors, while not forgetting the all important long term contributors, authors, and excellent writers would welcome and invite this younger person’s perspectives’ narratives’ concerning MR Callen Sorensen Karklisour and how he views our ever-changing world?
If so, over time he could aim for the heights that many of the AIMN authors have achieved, Such as the AIMN’s forever relevant and most worthy writers, one such favourite of mine, the eminent Mr John Lord.
Not forgetting our sharply skilled responders, take a bow, Mr Phil Prior’Thank-you, Michael.
Thank you, William. I appreciate your words of encouragement.
As it turns out I’ll be preparing another article of Callen’s tonight. Unfortunately it will be his last for the foreseeable future due to increased commitments in radio and youth work.