Diageo Australia launches first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

‘Darunga Mudang’, meaning ‘celebrate life’ – artwork developed in collaboration with Indigenous artists, Dalmarri, which reflects Diageo’s three main sites in Australia – Bundaberg Rum Distillery (top green circle), Huntingwood Packaging and Distribution (middle grey circle), and Sydney HQ (bottom blue circle).

 

Download the Reflect RAP here (PDF 392 kb)

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australia’s colonial history is characterised by devastating land dispossession, violence, and racism. Over the last half-century, however, many significant steps towards reconciliation have been taken.

Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that reminds us that while generations of Australians have fought hard for meaningful change, future gains are likely to take just as much, if not more, effort.

Since 2006, RAP’s have provided a framework for Australian organisations to leverage their structures and diverse spheres of influence to support reconciliation with the First Nation peoples.

Through the ‘Reflect’ RAP we seek to harness a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their stories, and their connection to the places in which we operate. Through this lens of understanding, we hope to lay the foundation for more meaningful and long-term relationships, and actions in the future.

The actions Diageo has committed to in the RAP include:

• engagement with local community
• create opportunities for local employees to learn and engage with reconciliation and its meaning
• ensure representation and acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in our physical and virtual workspaces, and
• identify ways to engage and attract First Nations people with meaningful employment within our industry

To represent and celebrate this commitment, Diageo Australia commissioned an artwork by local Indigenous-owned business Dalmarri. This artwork encapsulates the three main sites in Australia – Bundaberg Distillery, Huntingwood Packaging and Distribution, and Sydney HQ office – and symbolises our journey towards reconciliation and our purpose to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. 

Our RAP document, which features this artwork, was designed by Little Rocket, an Indigenous-owned creative agency based in Melbourne, Australia.