Lessons in Truth and Reconciliation for Australia from Overseas.

Discussions of a potential truth commission in Australia have largely taken place in the state and territory or national context. However, given that there have been more than forty truth or truth plus reconciliation commissions (TRCs) to date across the world, Australia would be wise to learn from experiences overseas, especially from similar countries, notably the settler states of Canada and New Zealand. The South African TRC, although the most famous, is not a good precedent although it does point to what this paper argues is the most important lesson to be learnt - notably to clearly understand in advance the precise purpose of the Commission. This will involve satisfying numerous stakeholders, and be much more complex than finding one particular truth. Even if reconciliation is currently off the agenda and only the needs of First Nations peoples, as the innocent parties, are taken into account, there still can be a need for truth telling as a form of therapy: as a means of correcting the historical record, and/or as a prelude to treaty making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]