Dear Submission Committee or to whom it May Concern
I am writing to express my support for constitutional reform so that our nation’s guiding document acknowledges and affirms the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia.
I support the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the recommendations of the Referendum Council.
A constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament and an extra-constitutional Declaration of Recognition in all Australian Parliaments will address the unmet and pressing need for First Australians to have a voice in the policies and decisions that govern their lives.
They provide a clear and practical path forward for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples.
They represent the reasonable aspirations of First Australians following the largest consultation process ever undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and are supported by a majority of Australians.[1]
I stand with the 90 per cent of Australians who believe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should have a voice in the matters that affect them and who believe that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold a unique place as the First Australians.[2]
Constitutional reform is important to me because this country must atone the abhorrent treatment of our First Nation’s people and enshrine in legislative framework the mechanisms to ensure racial equity in this country and ensure the voice of our indiegenous people is represented in any future parliamentary actions and outcomes. May this also elevate their story, their particular 60.000 year old culture, their unmatched knowledge and practices of sustaining this earth in ecological balance for milleniums, and their strength of survival in the most hostile of circumstances. This is something our country should be so proud of and we should be demonstrating this in ways that are permanent, impactful and meaningful, and beyond the whims of changing government and this requires its protection in Constitutional reform. Until this and more is done we live in this country under a shadow of shame and unacceptable cruelty and division.
I also support a formal agreement making and truth telling process through a Makarrata Commission. Truth telling is critical to raising public awareness of the need for constitutional reform, to improving civic understanding of our nation’s history, and to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sovereignty.
Constitutional reform will be an important affirmation of Australia’s recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination, and an essential step in our nation’s reconciliation journey.
Kind regards,
Chelle Wallace
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[1] Wahlquist, Calla (2017) Most Australians support Indigenous voice to parliament plan that Turnbull rejected, Guardian Australia, accessible at <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/30/most-australians…;
[2] Reconciliation Australia (2016) Australian Reconciliation Barometer, accessible at <https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-
