During the past 12 months we non-Indigenous people of many backgrounds—academics and artists, scientists and historians, musicians, storytellers and community members—have discussed the way forward for Australia in light of the Uluru Statement, the 2024 referendum outcome and the challenges confronting our country and the world today. Half a century after the emergence of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man this statement is a heartfelt response to the invitation by Indigenous Australians to ‘walk together’ as we seek a more truthful and compassionate understanding of our nation’s past, present and future.

We acknowledge the generosity of the Uluru Statement and the invitation from Indigenous peoples to share the strength drawn from their deep history in this land. As newcomers, we appreciate that belonging to Country must be earned through political recognition of the First Nation peoples of Australia, through deep-listening and truth-telling and about colonial history and imperial legacies. We also acknowledge and esteem the myriad inheritances brought to this continent from other lands in more recent times, creating a new and dynamic multiculturalism.

Through this dialogue, we seek healing. We support the enduring objectives of the Uluru Statement. We believe that national identity—though often contested—can be expressed and celebrated in ways that unite us through song, dance, and storytelling, all grounded in a deep knowledge of and feeling for Country. Therefore, we recommend fostering innovative initiatives that connect people to Country, as such experiences will gradually inspire Australians to reshape their social and economic structures in a spirit of shared purpose.

Over 40,000 years ago at the heart of the great southern continent that became Australia, Mungo Lady and Mungo Man lived beside abundant inland waters, and their sacred humanity was cherished. We know this because they emerged from the desert sands of Lake Mungo in 1968 and 1974, revealing that their deaths so long ago were mourned in ritual and ceremony. Their lives remain profound and enduring expressions of creative consciousness. These are First Peoples, revered ancestors, the Old Ones speaking to us. They solemnly remind us of our responsibilities of inhabiting this extraordinary continent, a place where all Australians live in and with deep time. In their revelation they may well ask of us, “What have you done with my country? What have you done with my people?”

The story of this land is ongoing and the responsibility for its well-being belongs not to one, but to all. Biodiversity, cultural diversity and linguistic diversity have always been at the heart of Australian history and identity. This rich inheritance is the foundation of our capacity to renew and transform our society through collective, collaborative, endeavour. We are embarked upon an ongoing dialogue about our particular place on Earth, and from this conversation will grow understandings of this continent that, like the ‘Dreaming’, can be both immensely old and exhilaratingly new.