In their new book ‘Time to Listen: An Indigenous Voice to Parliament’, Melisa Castan and Lynette Russell pose crucial questions about the Great Australian Silence and how it informs the call for an Indigenous Voice to parliament, from the colonial era till today.
- So, have times now changed?
- Is the tragedy of that national silence -- a refusal to acknowledge Indigenous agency and cultural achievements -- finally coming to an end?
- And will the Makarrata Commission, which takes its name from a Yolngu word meaning "peace after a dispute", become a reality too, overseeing truth-telling and agreement-making between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians?
"The Voice to Parliament can be a transformational legal and political institutional reform, but only if we really listen to Indigenous people, and they are clearly heard when they speak." - Melissa Castan &Lynette Russell
