ANTaR was founded in 1997. with co-founder
Phil Glendinning remaining National President of the organisation for 10 years. ANTaR was a key supporter and leader in the movement for
reconciliation in Australia, which was rooted in the recognition that Indigenous Australians were not being fairly treated in Australia. During the development of the
Native Title Act 1993, a number of non-Indigenous organisations and individuals developed a coalition to support Indigenous interests in negotiations about the Act. Following the election of the
Howard government, in early 1997 the National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title (NIWG), which consisted of representatives of Aboriginal
land councils and equivalent organisations across Australia, called on
NGOs around the nation to gauge the level of non-Indigenous support for
Australian native title rights. The ANTaR coalition grew out of this. Somewhat differently to most other such movements, ANTaR has not sought to speak for Indigenous Australians; rather, it aims to support Indigenous voices and interests, seeking direction from Indigenous peoples on issues such as policy and legislation that affects them. When the Howard government was introducing amendments to the
Native Title Act, NIWG provided the national view and ANTaR helped to coordinate a response to the amendments. In 1997 and 1998, native title rights became the focus of a national campaign by ANTaR, with a central project called the Sea of Hands. This was a visual display, with an accompanying statement for which citizens' signatures were collected. The focus shifted after Howard's 1998 amendments to the Act, and the Sea of Hands became recognised as a symbol for reconciliation. Meehan was no longer director as of February 2019. From January 2019, ANTaR took over the running of the
National Close the Gap Day (NCTGD), after
Oxfam Australia had run the event on behalf of the CTG coalition for the previous 10 years. Most of the March 2020 NCTGD public events were cancelled owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, but ANTaR co-hosted the launch of the 2019 Close the Gap report –
Our Choices, Our Voices, prepared by the
Lowitja Institute, at a community event at
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation in
Sydney.
June Oscar ,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Rod Little, Co-Chair of the
National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, addressed attendees. With the 2020 upsurge in
Black Lives Matter issues and rallies, including
rallies across the country in early June, ANTaR was cited by
GQ magazine as one of 12 organisations across the country to donate to, to aid the cause of Indigenous justice. In 2022, after more than 25 years advocating for First Nations rights and justice, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation rebranded as
ANTAR to reflect its broader mission. At the 2023 Annual General Meeting, ANTAR’s Board became majority First Nations for the first time. ==Description==