Stretch RAP Launch marks ‘courageous and essential’ progress towards reconciliation
- deansimpson7
- Jun 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 9
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
The Salvation Army officially launched its Stretch RAP (Reconciliation Action Plan) this week, a commitment to deepening its engagement with First Nations stakeholders and making reconciliation-aligned practices commonplace across the organisation.
In doing so, The Salvation Army joined a small number of Australian non-profit organisations with Reconciliation Action Plans that have progressed to implementing such an initiative.
The launch event coincided with National Reconciliation Week, which this year had the theme of ‘Bridging Now to Next’.
Master of ceremonies, Major Stuart Glover, a Bundjalung man and TSA Assistant Chief Secretary for Business, gave a newly written Acknowledgement of Country, in which The Salvation Army paid its respects to Indigenous elders who played a vital role in fostering a fair and just society for all Australians.
“The Salvation Army has called Australia home for over 144 years, and we acknowledge that part of our history has contributed to the profound grief and loss experienced by First Nations people,” Stuart read. “We are committed to working alongside First Nations peoples to pursue justice, reconciliation and mutual flourishing.”
Stuart added a personal note about what this occasion and work meant to him as a First Nations man.
“I also just want to acknowledge other Mob in this room and also online,” he said. “It’s great to be part of a team of Mob right around the country, being part of helping The Salvation Army, being great agents of reconciliation.”
The event, held on 2 June at Box Hill Corps, Victoria, featured a Welcome to Country performed by Djirri Djirri, a Wurundjeri women’s dance group, as well as a previously recorded Passing of the Coolamon ceremony featuring divisional commanders from across the territory.
Speakers at the launch – (Top) Lieut-Colonel Gregory Morgan and Shirl Congoo (Bottom) Jennifer Kirkaldy and Lucy Davis.
What is a Stretch RAP?
A Stretch RAP is an initiative designed by Reconciliation Australia, a non-profit organisation that promotes and facilitates reconciliation by building relationships, respect and trust between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community.
The Stretch RAP’s adoption follows the 2020 implementation of the Innovate RAP. Reconciliation Australia’s RAP Frameworks provide organisations with structured approaches to advance reconciliation.
According to Reconciliation Australia, a Stretch RAP is best suited to organisations that already demonstrate strong, meaningful engagement with internal and external Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders.
These organisations need to have established a very strong approach towards advancing reconciliation both internally and within their sphere of influence. The Stretch RAP requires organisations to embed reconciliation initiatives into business strategies, so they become ‘business as usual’.
This process is expected to span a three-year period and is focused on high-impact commitments based on defined measurable targets and goals. In preparing to launch the Stretch RAP, The Salvation Army hosted a series of yarning circles to discuss communal issues and find a pathway to collaborative solutions.
Progress and setbacks
Reconciliation Australia Program Manager Helena Plazzer spoke at the launch event about how Australia’s path to reconciliation had been marked both by progress and significant setbacks, but that The Salvation Army was demonstrating its commitment to truth-telling by confronting its own history.
“I wanted to say that this truth-telling is courageous and essential, and we cannot bridge now to next without it,” Helena said.
Helena said that of the approximately 3000 non-profit organisations in the RAP program, only 5 per cent held either a Stretch or Elevate RAP.
“I want to acknowledge that this Stretch RAP and the work that you are undertaking, that is not simple, will also be looked on by many other people who are looking for an example of leadership – of where to go and where to be brave enough to go,” Helena said.
Reconciliation Action Plan and Projects Manager Lucy Davis, a proud Cobble Cobble Burrungum woman from South West Queensland, said that the launch was just the beginning, and the next day would mark the start of the real work, which would involve digging deeper into reconciliation.
She said the Stretch RAP included six significant commitments, which were Truth-Telling, Reconciliation Ally Guuyungs (guuyungs means camp/circle), Cultural Safety, a RAP Framework Database, Sorry Business and Social Justice Advocacy.
“Our Innovate RAP analysis showed us that there is still much work to unpack about what reconciliation is and looks like in practice,” Lucy said. “The latest RAP Circle Analysis reinforced that while education is still needed, our focus ahead shifted from learning to action.
“Each of these commitments reflects the evolving journey of reconciliation, truth-telling and social justice and advocacy, built on previous RAP deliverables, bringing them to life in new ways.”
