Submission to the Voice Co-design Process –
My name is and I live on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation
and I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to make a submission in response to the
Indigenous Voice Discussion Paper.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live with the generational impacts of the violent
colonisation of this country every day – racism, poverty, poor health and educational
outcomes, high rates of incarceration of adults and children – and continued abuse,
discrimination and denial of human rights.
Over the last 40 years I have worked in areas where I have seen this discrimination in action
in corporate and non-government sectors and various sectors of the Australian and NSW
Government including health, education and justice.
It is time to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities in their
demands for justice. In 2017 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people came together and
produced the Uluru Statement, which gives the Australian government a pathway to First
Nations People’s self-determination and reconciliation.
I support the Uluru Statement’s demand for not only constitutional recognition, but also an
independent voice enshrined in the constitution. In this submission I call on the Australian
government to:
1. Honour its election commitment to a referendum once the model for the Voice
has been settled,
2. Introduce enabling legislation for the Voice must be passed after a referendum
has been held in the next term of Parliament, and
3. Support a membership model for the National Voice which ensures that
previously unheard Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the same
chance of being selected as established leadership figures.
In taking up the call for fairness and justice, the Australian government has the opportunity
to form a stronger and fairer society, and a better future for us all.
Regards
