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Tanya Hosch: adoption, dislocation and the fight for recognition	Tanya Hosch: adoption, dislocation and the fight for recognition
2013-05-28 20:01:59 UTC	2013-10-03 10:12:08 UTC (4 months later)
Tanya Hosch was in the House of Representatives on 13 Feburary 2008, the day Kevin Rudd said sorry to the stolen generations, with her daughter Marley, then five months old.	Tanya Hosch was in the House of Representatives on 13 Feburary 2008, the day Kevin Rudd said sorry to the stolen generations, with her daughter Marley, then five months old.
The apology was a profound moment in the history of black and white relations in Australia. The grief and relief of generations of Indigenous people taken from their families by churches and agencies spoke powerfully to people watching the country turn a corner.	The apology was a profound moment in the history of black and white relations in Australia. The grief and relief of generations of Indigenous people taken from their families by churches and agencies spoke powerfully to people watching the country turn a corner.
Rudd’s apology had many dimensions. Sorry for the personal hurt and degradation, regret too for the damage inflicted on indigenous culture and identity. People taken from their families were robbed not only of their loved ones, but also of their means of identification. Indigenous people belong to a people and a homeland. Removal broke the link, an act with profound implications that linger until this day.	Rudd’s apology had many dimensions. Sorry for the personal hurt and degradation, regret too for the damage inflicted on indigenous culture and identity. People taken from their families were robbed not only of their loved ones, but also of their means of identification. Indigenous people belong to a people and a homeland. Removal broke the link, an act with profound implications that linger until this day.
Hosch thought of the people who had not lived to see the apology. She experienced, in those moments, the gaps in her own story – birth parents who had put her up for adoption at three weeks of age; another kind of personal dislocation, a lost cultural connection, an all too common story in Indigenous Australia. She thought of her daughter, the first blood relative she’s known. “I was so grateful to have the confidence that I was not going to have to have to fight to protect her from being removed from me,” she says. “That consciousness you have as a parent.”	Hosch thought of the people who had not lived to see the apology. She experienced, in those moments, the gaps in her own story – birth parents who had put her up for adoption at three weeks of age; another kind of personal dislocation, a lost cultural connection, an all too common story in Indigenous Australia. She thought of her daughter, the first blood relative she’s known. “I was so grateful to have the confidence that I was not going to have to have to fight to protect her from being removed from me,” she says. “That consciousness you have as a parent.”
But it was more than gratitude. There was a specific sense of obligation. “If it takes me my whole life to find my natural family, and repair that lost cultural connection, then I have a daughter who needs me to secure certain things for her,” Hosch says.	But it was more than gratitude. There was a specific sense of obligation. “If it takes me my whole life to find my natural family, and repair that lost cultural connection, then I have a daughter who needs me to secure certain things for her,” Hosch says.
The story of Marley’s culture needs to take its place at the foundations of modern Australia. As far as Tanya Hosch is concerned, Rudd’s apology was just the start. “I feel like getting our constitution to tell the truth about who we are as a nation is the least my daughter deserves,” she says.	The story of Marley’s culture needs to take its place at the foundations of modern Australia. As far as Tanya Hosch is concerned, Rudd’s apology was just the start. “I feel like getting our constitution to tell the truth about who we are as a nation is the least my daughter deserves,” she says.
She pauses to look me in the eye. “And the least that your kids deserve too.”	She pauses to look me in the eye. “And the least that your kids deserve too.”
Hosch couldn’t have known, sitting listening to Rudd apologise, that exactly five years later she’d be standing up at the National Press Club, making her debut on national television as the public face of the Recognise campaign. For the next two years it will be her job to convince Australia that constitutional reform matters.	Hosch couldn’t have known, sitting listening to Rudd apologise, that exactly five years later she’d be standing up at the National Press Club, making her debut on national television as the public face of the Recognise campaign. For the next two years it will be her job to convince Australia that constitutional reform matters.
Some simple facts make the case. The constitution neglects to reference the 40,000 years of Indigenous history before white settlement. Indigenous people were excluded from the drafting process at the time of federation. The only references in the document were discriminatory. The absence of recognition of Australia’s original inhabitants stems from the myth that Britain took possession of an empty continent. That myth sustained a century of exclusion and systemic discrimination.	Some simple facts make the case. The constitution neglects to reference the 40,000 years of Indigenous history before white settlement. Indigenous people were excluded from the drafting process at the time of federation. The only references in the document were discriminatory. The absence of recognition of Australia’s original inhabitants stems from the myth that Britain took possession of an empty continent. That myth sustained a century of exclusion and systemic discrimination.
All sides of politics accept the foundational injustice in principle, and for a period of time, they have wondered how to fix it. John Howard made an attempt in 1999 by proposing a new preamble to the constitution acknowledging the first Australians, but the proposal was rebuffed by voters at a referendum. Howard’s first effort looked half-hearted, the language chosen was contentious, the Coalition was divided, Indigenous leaders accused the prime minister of bad faith, and the preamble became mired in a political debate over whether Australia should become a republic. Neither the republic nor the preamble succeeded.	All sides of politics accept the foundational injustice in principle, and for a period of time, they have wondered how to fix it. John Howard made an attempt in 1999 by proposing a new preamble to the constitution acknowledging the first Australians, but the proposal was rebuffed by voters at a referendum. Howard’s first effort looked half-hearted, the language chosen was contentious, the Coalition was divided, Indigenous leaders accused the prime minister of bad faith, and the preamble became mired in a political debate over whether Australia should become a republic. Neither the republic nor the preamble succeeded.
The issue lapsed, but prominent Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson persuaded Howard to have another go. Howard, by then a cautious convert to the importance of symbolism to advance reconciliation, proposed a policy of constitutional recognition at the 2007 election but by then he’d run out of time in the Lodge. Labor, always supportive of the reform, inherited practical responsibility for getting it done.	The issue lapsed, but prominent Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson persuaded Howard to have another go. Howard, by then a cautious convert to the importance of symbolism to advance reconciliation, proposed a policy of constitutional recognition at the 2007 election but by then he’d run out of time in the Lodge. Labor, always supportive of the reform, inherited practical responsibility for getting it done.
Gillard has declared the lack of constitutional acknowledgement an “unhealed wound that even now lies open at the heart of our national story”. The opposition leader, Tony Abbott, expressed it this way: “We have never fully made peace with the first Australians. This is the stain on our soul that Prime Minister Keating so movingly evoked at Redfern 21 years ago. We have to acknowledge that pre-1788, this land was as Aboriginal then as it is Australian now, and until we have acknowledged that, we will be an incomplete nation and a torn people.”	Gillard has declared the lack of constitutional acknowledgement an “unhealed wound that even now lies open at the heart of our national story”. The opposition leader, Tony Abbott, expressed it this way: “We have never fully made peace with the first Australians. This is the stain on our soul that Prime Minister Keating so movingly evoked at Redfern 21 years ago. We have to acknowledge that pre-1788, this land was as Aboriginal then as it is Australian now, and until we have acknowledged that, we will be an incomplete nation and a torn people.”
The dominant current view among politicians is that constitutional recognition should not go to another referendum until the community understands why we are having the debate. “A referendum should be held at a time when it has the most chance of success,” Julia Gillard said earlier this year. “I do believe the community is willing to embrace the justice of this campaign because Australians understand that Indigenous culture and history are a source of pride for us all. But I also believe that their goodwill needs to be galvanised.”	The dominant current view among politicians is that constitutional recognition should not go to another referendum until the community understands why we are having the debate. “A referendum should be held at a time when it has the most chance of success,” Julia Gillard said earlier this year. “I do believe the community is willing to embrace the justice of this campaign because Australians understand that Indigenous culture and history are a source of pride for us all. But I also believe that their goodwill needs to be galvanised.”
There’s a supportive mood in the community, but there remains a lack of awareness of the specifics. The Gillard government has given Reconciliation Australia a budget of $10m to build the yes case between now and 2016. Hosch is deputy director of the Recognise campaign, but she’s the public face. She and her team will travel the country doing what is necessary to get people involved and informed: public advocacy, coalition-building behind the scenes – everything from pinning Recognise badges on willing rock stars at the Aria awards, to consulting and campaigning in the homelands. Campaigners have set off this week on a relay that will begin in Melbourne and end at Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, an event inspired by the long walk undertaken by AFL footballer Michael Long in 2004. (Long walked from Melbourne to Canberra in an effort to focus public attention on Indigenous disadvantage).	There’s a supportive mood in the community, but there remains a lack of awareness of the specifics. The Gillard government has given Reconciliation Australia a budget of $10m to build the yes case between now and 2016. Hosch is deputy director of the Recognise campaign, but she’s the public face. She and her team will travel the country doing what is necessary to get people involved and informed: public advocacy, coalition-building behind the scenes – everything from pinning Recognise badges on willing rock stars at the Aria awards, to consulting and campaigning in the homelands. Campaigners have set off this week on a relay that will begin in Melbourne and end at Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, an event inspired by the long walk undertaken by AFL footballer Michael Long in 2004. (Long walked from Melbourne to Canberra in an effort to focus public attention on Indigenous disadvantage).
It’s a big moment of transition for a woman who has devoted her professional life to activism in the backroom. Until now she’s been a policy wonk, consultant and strategist. Hosch’s time behind the scenes has secured her a formidable network, and a bunch of rusted-on admirers. Make calls about Tanya Hosch and this is the general playback: a superb strategist, the only person to lead the Recognise campaign, one of the only emerging Indigenous leaders who can balance the imperative of having a vision, and seeing it through to detailed implementation. In this age of self-promotion, most people in Hosch’s position would grab the microphone first and think second.	It’s a big moment of transition for a woman who has devoted her professional life to activism in the backroom. Until now she’s been a policy wonk, consultant and strategist. Hosch’s time behind the scenes has secured her a formidable network, and a bunch of rusted-on admirers. Make calls about Tanya Hosch and this is the general playback: a superb strategist, the only person to lead the Recognise campaign, one of the only emerging Indigenous leaders who can balance the imperative of having a vision, and seeing it through to detailed implementation. In this age of self-promotion, most people in Hosch’s position would grab the microphone first and think second.
Patrick Dodson, the man generally regarded as the father of reconciliation, has known Hosch for most of her adult life. He suggests part of the instinct to hold back reflects her consultative nature. She’s conscious of her obligations, she “doesn’t regurgitate a set of mantras but wants to engage in genuine dialogue”. If she’s walking a road which ends with her being the front person, she’s going to take her time walking it. She’s going to know every bend.	Patrick Dodson, the man generally regarded as the father of reconciliation, has known Hosch for most of her adult life. He suggests part of the instinct to hold back reflects her consultative nature. She’s conscious of her obligations, she “doesn’t regurgitate a set of mantras but wants to engage in genuine dialogue”. If she’s walking a road which ends with her being the front person, she’s going to take her time walking it. She’s going to know every bend.
“Young people are conscious of the pressures, the lack of returns for your effort, the need to establish their own family’s financial security, the thanklessness of the task, in trying to be a universal leader, so they are less inclined to go into that space,” Dodson says. “If you are going to run up against criticism, the rise of social media has given everyone a platform who wants one and everyone is an expert despite the lack of credentials, so they are very rare people who will want to carry the burdens that come with that.”	“Young people are conscious of the pressures, the lack of returns for your effort, the need to establish their own family’s financial security, the thanklessness of the task, in trying to be a universal leader, so they are less inclined to go into that space,” Dodson says. “If you are going to run up against criticism, the rise of social media has given everyone a platform who wants one and everyone is an expert despite the lack of credentials, so they are very rare people who will want to carry the burdens that come with that.”
There’s an act of commodification that goes with being a public figure. You have to deal with a media that cares nothing about you beyond what you can deliver in the moment. “You can go into this public domain,” Dodson says, “and be anointed a leader by the press, and then they will spit you out when they finish with you.”	There’s an act of commodification that goes with being a public figure. You have to deal with a media that cares nothing about you beyond what you can deliver in the moment. “You can go into this public domain,” Dodson says, “and be anointed a leader by the press, and then they will spit you out when they finish with you.”
Then there’s politics, a conflict business. “Indigenous politics can be nasty, personal, vicious really. Stepping up is a risk,” says Tim Goodwin, a Melbourne lawyer and emerging Indigenous leader who has known Hosch since he was 15. Lawyer Larissa Behrendt explains the risks further. “Tanya is never one to put herself at the front,” she says, “but she’s always instrumental in making things happen.” That level of steady achievement can create “some level of petty jealousy”.	Then there’s politics, a conflict business. “Indigenous politics can be nasty, personal, vicious really. Stepping up is a risk,” says Tim Goodwin, a Melbourne lawyer and emerging Indigenous leader who has known Hosch since he was 15. Lawyer Larissa Behrendt explains the risks further. “Tanya is never one to put herself at the front,” she says, “but she’s always instrumental in making things happen.” That level of steady achievement can create “some level of petty jealousy”.
“Her story of adoption and dislocation is a story in too many people’s backgrounds,” Behrendt says. “For me, Tanya’s identity has never been in question. But when someone of Tanya’s calibre has success, then the easiest way to tear them down is to cast aspersions. It’s a cheap trick people play when they’ve got nothing else to use. It’s the cheapest shot: who are you? Where’s your family from? It’s awful.”	“Her story of adoption and dislocation is a story in too many people’s backgrounds,” Behrendt says. “For me, Tanya’s identity has never been in question. But when someone of Tanya’s calibre has success, then the easiest way to tear them down is to cast aspersions. It’s a cheap trick people play when they’ve got nothing else to use. It’s the cheapest shot: who are you? Where’s your family from? It’s awful.”
Julia Gillard might get an interrogation about her empty fruitbowl, or about her oversized earlobes, but the gratuitous personal attack for Indigenous leaders often manifests around identity questions. It can be from rivals in the community, or self-appointed culture warriors sitting outside making pronouncements. The complexities of all that could be enough to sap anyone’s confidence, to keep a person not only consigned to the wings but crouching in the brace position under the desk.	Julia Gillard might get an interrogation about her empty fruitbowl, or about her oversized earlobes, but the gratuitous personal attack for Indigenous leaders often manifests around identity questions. It can be from rivals in the community, or self-appointed culture warriors sitting outside making pronouncements. The complexities of all that could be enough to sap anyone’s confidence, to keep a person not only consigned to the wings but crouching in the brace position under the desk.
But Hosch is doing it anyway. Leaders such as Patrick Dodson and Lowitja O’Donohue want the Recognise campaign to mark a point of generational renewal: an explicit handover in Indigenous leadership in this country.	But Hosch is doing it anyway. Leaders such as Patrick Dodson and Lowitja O’Donohue want the Recognise campaign to mark a point of generational renewal: an explicit handover in Indigenous leadership in this country.
“The time [people such as Patrick and Lowitja] have invested in me requires me to put aside my own misgivings and get on with it,” Hosch says. “I feel like that’s what we have to do, all of us, together.	“The time [people such as Patrick and Lowitja] have invested in me requires me to put aside my own misgivings and get on with it,” Hosch says. “I feel like that’s what we have to do, all of us, together.
“When I think about those more senior leaders who have been incredibility generous with me and invested a lot of time in me, the best thing I can do to to repay that is step up now.	“When I think about those more senior leaders who have been incredibility generous with me and invested a lot of time in me, the best thing I can do to to repay that is step up now.
“I feel like it’s the right time, and I think if not now, when, and if not us, who?”	“I feel like it’s the right time, and I think if not now, when, and if not us, who?”
Hosch spoke of her personal story when she faced the National Press Club in February. Her speech followed the passage through parliament of an Act of Recognition, legislation intended as a prelude to the referendum.	Hosch spoke of her personal story when she faced the National Press Club in February. Her speech followed the passage through parliament of an Act of Recognition, legislation intended as a prelude to the referendum.
“I was blessed to be raised in a family that is a model for the kind of nation I want Australia to be,” Hosch said. “A family where race isn’t a divide, but an enricher. A family that is proud of the many strands of its heritage, and particularly of our Indigenous heritage. A family that integrates the best of all of our traditions and cultures, and which has nurtured me to play a part in bringing about this big moment in the life of our nation.”	“I was blessed to be raised in a family that is a model for the kind of nation I want Australia to be,” Hosch said. “A family where race isn’t a divide, but an enricher. A family that is proud of the many strands of its heritage, and particularly of our Indigenous heritage. A family that integrates the best of all of our traditions and cultures, and which has nurtured me to play a part in bringing about this big moment in the life of our nation.”
She was born to a white mother of Welsh origin, and her birth father is a Torres Strait Islander man. Her adoptive mother is white and her adoptive father Aboriginal. The adoption was never a secret. “There has always been openness about those things,” she says. Hosch came to her adoptive family after the death of her parents’ eldest child in a car accident at only 16. “There was a lot of grief and it was hard.” Home was “a safe place to come to because of the openly caring and sharing nature of it. My parents got married young. They’ve had a pretty tough life. But they’ve always worked really hard. There wasn’t a lot financially, but there was a lot of love and an enormous amount of stability.”	She was born to a white mother of Welsh origin, and her birth father is a Torres Strait Islander man. Her adoptive mother is white and her adoptive father Aboriginal. The adoption was never a secret. “There has always been openness about those things,” she says. Hosch came to her adoptive family after the death of her parents’ eldest child in a car accident at only 16. “There was a lot of grief and it was hard.” Home was “a safe place to come to because of the openly caring and sharing nature of it. My parents got married young. They’ve had a pretty tough life. But they’ve always worked really hard. There wasn’t a lot financially, but there was a lot of love and an enormous amount of stability.”
There was racism at school, and that dented the young woman’s confidence. Hosch finished her education at Enfield high school, “but only just”. Most adolescents struggle to assume their adult form, the process is often inelegant, but for Hosch the “who am I” questions were specific and painful. “I certainly grew up with a sense of there are things about who I am that I don’t understand,” she says. “I still experience a deep sense of loss about those things. I’ll continue to work on filling in those parts. But that is painful, that process. I can only do that in my own time.”	There was racism at school, and that dented the young woman’s confidence. Hosch finished her education at Enfield high school, “but only just”. Most adolescents struggle to assume their adult form, the process is often inelegant, but for Hosch the “who am I” questions were specific and painful. “I certainly grew up with a sense of there are things about who I am that I don’t understand,” she says. “I still experience a deep sense of loss about those things. I’ll continue to work on filling in those parts. But that is painful, that process. I can only do that in my own time.”
She didn’t go straight to university. “I think I thought that was something that very clever, born to rule people did. It did not occur to me that anyone could go.” She worked instead, at a women’s information switchboard in Adelaide. It was a feminist organisation. Colleagues encouraged her to go to university and study social work part-time. She did, and loved it.	She didn’t go straight to university. “I think I thought that was something that very clever, born to rule people did. It did not occur to me that anyone could go.” She worked instead, at a women’s information switchboard in Adelaide. It was a feminist organisation. Colleagues encouraged her to go to university and study social work part-time. She did, and loved it.
Activism crept up, bit by bit. She entered the public sector and did a placement at the Human Rights Commission in Sydney just after the Bringing Them Home report on Aboriginal children stolen from their families was released in 1997. That report revealed the full extent to which forcible removals occurred in Australia over a century, and Hosch listened to the oral submissions, voices she would remember a decade later on the day Rudd apologised to the stolen generations.	Activism crept up, bit by bit. She entered the public sector and did a placement at the Human Rights Commission in Sydney just after the Bringing Them Home report on Aboriginal children stolen from their families was released in 1997. That report revealed the full extent to which forcible removals occurred in Australia over a century, and Hosch listened to the oral submissions, voices she would remember a decade later on the day Rudd apologised to the stolen generations.
She attended her first big national meeting – the Reconciliation Convention of 1997 – courtesy of her trade union, who sent her as a delegate. Dodson spoke at that conference. She nominates it as her transformational moment, where she resolved to be an activist, not a spectator. “I always had a desire to do good, I suppose, but I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen,” she recalls. “I distinctly remember [Dodson’s] closing address, him challenging everybody to think about what they can do to create a reconciled nation. I took it literally.”	She attended her first big national meeting – the Reconciliation Convention of 1997 – courtesy of her trade union, who sent her as a delegate. Dodson spoke at that conference. She nominates it as her transformational moment, where she resolved to be an activist, not a spectator. “I always had a desire to do good, I suppose, but I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen,” she recalls. “I distinctly remember [Dodson’s] closing address, him challenging everybody to think about what they can do to create a reconciled nation. I took it literally.”
Hosch progressed to opportunities to work in Indigenous policy, high-level public sector roles, including a job at the Reconciliation Council. “I think a lot of people back then would have found me stroppy and confrontational,” Hosch says of her early period. “I would argue the toss on everything, basically. I was worried about things not being strong enough in terms of the assertions being made.”	Hosch progressed to opportunities to work in Indigenous policy, high-level public sector roles, including a job at the Reconciliation Council. “I think a lot of people back then would have found me stroppy and confrontational,” Hosch says of her early period. “I would argue the toss on everything, basically. I was worried about things not being strong enough in terms of the assertions being made.”
Behrendt was a pal in Canberra. She says: “We understood what we were going through, working as women at that level. Tanya was instrumental in bringing people together. She’s always understood the importance of peer support. She wanted camaraderie among our generation.”	Behrendt was a pal in Canberra. She says: “We understood what we were going through, working as women at that level. Tanya was instrumental in bringing people together. She’s always understood the importance of peer support. She wanted camaraderie among our generation.”
The other friend crucial to her current efforts with Recognise is Jason Glanville, the chief executive of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern. Dodson has endorsed both Hosch and Glanville to lead in putting the case for constitutional recognition.	The other friend crucial to her current efforts with Recognise is Jason Glanville, the chief executive of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern. Dodson has endorsed both Hosch and Glanville to lead in putting the case for constitutional recognition.
Hosch says she and Glanville “want the same kind of change”. Glanville says Hosch is without doubt the best strategist working in Indigenous politics, a person of “driving commitment”, who can work a room better than anyone. But, he adds, “she has an incredible capacity to not back herself and run herself down”.	Hosch says she and Glanville “want the same kind of change”. Glanville says Hosch is without doubt the best strategist working in Indigenous politics, a person of “driving commitment”, who can work a room better than anyone. But, he adds, “she has an incredible capacity to not back herself and run herself down”.
While Glanville wishes his mate would second-guess herself less, he concedes the doubt is actually her greatest strength, particularly for a campaign like Recognise which has to bring a lot of people together, across cultures and generations. Self doubt “makes her more considered, it makes her respectful of the relationships she’s built”.	While Glanville wishes his mate would second-guess herself less, he concedes the doubt is actually her greatest strength, particularly for a campaign like Recognise which has to bring a lot of people together, across cultures and generations. Self doubt “makes her more considered, it makes her respectful of the relationships she’s built”.
Behrendt puts the same idea slightly more directly: “It’s the lack of raging personal ambition that makes her trustworthy.”	Behrendt puts the same idea slightly more directly: “It’s the lack of raging personal ambition that makes her trustworthy.”