Reconciliation Week: Going “All In” – A Personal Reflection on the Journey

Every year, National Reconciliation Week invites all of us to reflect on our shared history, on where we are today, and about the role each of us must play in the journey towards reconciliation and shaping a more just and equitable future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

For me, this reflection is deeply personal.

In 2011, I began my journey in promoting Aboriginal participation across the construction industry: I had the privilege of mentoring Aboriginal workers on site at Barangaroo Headland Park. The conversation wasn’t just about employment; it was about belonging. It was about cultural safety, and about making sure our mob could walk onto a project site proud of who they are, with their heads held high, knowing they had a place there.

That experience shaped me and continues to guide the way I approach my role today as Head of Indigenous Affairs at Laing O’Rourke.

In the same year, Laing O’Rourke were the first contractor in the industry to launch a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), voicing a formal commitment to advancing reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples through strategic engagement platforms and targets. Since then, the business has seen tangible progress, including increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment and career pathways; stronger partnerships with Indigenous businesses and communities; and a growing culture where our people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work.

When our journeys began, neither the business or I knew exactly what our individual paths would be shaped to look like. However, we held a mutual and simple understanding that meaningful change only happens when you step forward with courage, intent, humility, and a willingness to listen and learn.

Fifteen years on, our paths have crossed, and I’m proud to be working with an organisation that recognises reconciliation will not happen without conscious effort; rather it will only be achieved when we all play our part, if we are ‘All In’- Reconciliation Australia's theme for National Reconciliation Week 2026.

In my language and understanding, being ‘All In’ means showing up fully. Not just when it’s comfortable or convenient or visible – but showing up every day. It means standing in your truth, respecting culture, and walking alongside one another with genuine commitment.

For individuals, it means taking responsibility by learning, listening, and acting.

For organisations, it means embedding acts of reconciliation into how you operate.

And for our mob, it means continuing to lead with strength, resilience, and deep cultural knowledge, knowing that our voices matter and our stories carry power.

‘All In’ is powerful because if challenges us all to move beyond words – it encourages us to choose action. Taking action is where the greatest impact lies. It’s what creates a situation where the young Aboriginal worker who steps onto site for the first time sees someone who looks like them in a leadership role. It’s the conversations happening on the ground where cultural understanding replaces assumption. And it’s the shift from inclusion as an initiative to inclusion living and breathing throughout the culture of the organisation.

This National Reconciliation Week I encourage you to embrace this thinking and consider what action you can take. Whether this is the first year you’ll be actively engaging in a community or workplace event, or you have been participating for some time; whatever you choose, let’s recognise our shared history, our shared responsibility, and work together on a shared path towards achieving reconciliation.

You don’t need to have all the answers, you just need to be willing to step forward, because real change happens when everyone plays a part.