National Reconciliation Week is a significant event, celebrating the milestones of the 1967 referendum recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, and the ground-breaking Mabo native title decision. It is an important time for all Australians to contemplate the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and the broader community.
Urbis acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of lands on which we do business, and we pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We acknowledge the important contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make in creating a strong and vibrant Australian society.
Urbis aspires to be a great firm, and to be so, we believe it is essential to genuinely embrace reconciliation with the First Australians.
We are using National Reconciliation Week to highlight our commitment to reconciliation. The adoption of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) earlier this year was an important step in fostering meaningful change in supporting reconciliation within our firm and in the environments in which we work.
At the heart of our RAP is commitment to develop actions strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, businesses and organisations achieved by:
- Strengthening understanding of issues of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
- Enhancing our internship and recruitment processes to ensure they are more culturally inclusive in meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
- Using our influence to improve national planning frameworks enhancing the economic, social and physical opportunities associated with Aboriginal owned lands;
- Fostering engagement with traditional owners/custodian groups about the history of the land where Urbis is working; and
- Building relationships internally and externally to ensure a shared understanding and ownership of our Reconciliation Action Plan.