Are we ready to recognise the ravages of the last two hundred and thirty years? This edition of Griffith Review will ask how we honourably acknowledge our dark past, and best recognise this country’s status as home of the world’s oldest living civilisation

Inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and featuring outstanding Indigenous writers, First Things First is an urgent, nuanced and robust call to listen, hear and respond to questions of constitutional recognition.

More than two centuries after European settlers arrived, the need to find an honourable way to recognise and celebrate the unique history of this country as home to the oldest living civilisation is long overdue. A Makaratta Commission is the preferred way to do this, to make agreements and enable truth-telling about our history.

Are we ready to make peace and devise firmer ground for laws, policies and outcomes that improve Indigenous and non-Indigenous life in Australia?

With this special edition, Griffith Review excavates history and re-imagines the future, while not forgetting the urgencies of the present.

Published with the support of QUT.