Calls to support Voice referendum renewed on National Sorry Day

Six years after the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Indigenous leaders and the government have again called for the establishment of a Voice to Parliament through a successful referendum.

Sally Scales

Sally Scales, a member of the the Uluru Dialogue leadership, pictured in March. She says the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a call to all Australian people. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Indigenous leaders have called on Australians to support the Voice to Parliament referendum on National Sorry Day and the .

remembers the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and was first held on the one-year anniversary of the Bring Them Home report in 1998.

The 1997 report resulted from a Government inquiry into past policies which caused children to be forcibly removed from their families and communities, .

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney told ABC Radio National the day is one of mixed emotions.

"The emotion wells up in you to think that these people in our lifetime were taken and had terrible experiences," she said.

"And the trauma is inter-generational. That's what's awful about it.

"But it's also a story of survival, of resilience and ultimately, about this country coming to terms with a pretty awful part of its history."

In 2017, on National Sorry Day, 250 Indigenous leaders from across Australia gathered at Uluru in Central Australia.

The forum resulted in the .

The statement called for a truth-telling commission, , which would also oversee the creation of a treaty between the government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It also called for the establishment of an advisory body in the constitution, to be known as the Voice to Parliament.

Sally Scales, a member of the the Uluru Dialogue leadership, said the statement is a call to all Australian people.

"Since 2017, we've been asking the Australian people to walk with us, she said.

"The invitation was addressed to the Australian people to say... we want and need you to walk with us in a movement for a better future for not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children but also all children. So we have the next big hope for what the country can be."
A woman standing and speaking in front of microphones.
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said National Sorry Day is one of mixed emotions. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Australians will head to a referendum sometime between August and December this year to vote on enshrining the Voice to Parliament in the constitution.

The federal parliament has begun debating the wording of the proposed change to the constitution, after a joint committee recommended the bill be passed unamended.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has resisted calls from the Opposition to change what is proposed to avoid potential legal challenges.

He told parliament on Thursday the wording is legally sound, and now is the time for reconciliation.

"A yes vote at this referendum is a chance for all of us to take the next step on the journey of reconciliation, to be counted and to be heard on the right side of history — more than that, to be a part of a better and more reconciled future and nation.

"If not now, when?"

Opposition leader Peter Dutton still won't support the referendum, calling the Voice a "" which he says won't help regional and remote Indigenous communities.

He said the Coalition "strongly believes in constitutional recognition" for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but believes the Voice "is an overreach".

"I don't think the Australian public is there in supporting it, and I think the Australian public is puzzled as to why the Voice is not designed until after the vote takes place," he said on Friday.
Senator Lidia Thorpe stands in front of microphones at a press conference.
Indigenous independent senator Lida Thorpe is among those who want Truth and Treaty before the Voice. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele
The government has committed to implementing all parts of the Uluru Statement from the Heart but says the focus is currently on a successful referendum.

Some are calling for the Makarrata and Treaty to be established before the Voice, including independent Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe.

Senator Thorpe has asked the National Indigenous Australians Agency what work has been done so far.

"The October Budget included funding for Treaty and Truth telling through the establishment of a Makarrata Commission, with $1.7 million of that funding allocated for the current financial year," she said. "So how much of the funding has been spent so far and what on?"

The Agency's Simon Gordon said only $900,000 has been spent this year and consultations will begin after the referendum.

"What has been (spent) has been used by the agency for the preparatory work for the establishment of the Makarrata Commission," he said.

"The government's currently considering options for the process of consultation in the community, which will inform the design of the Makarrata Commission."

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4 min read
Published 26 May 2023 8:20pm
By Soofia Tariq
Source: SBS News


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