27 April 2021
Voice Secretariat
By email only: Co-designVoice@niaa.gov.au
Dear Committee Members,
The Australian Network of Student Anthropologists (ANSA) is an initiative of postgraduate students
that aims to share knowledge, experience, and support amongst student and early-career
anthropologists.
We believe the Uluru Statement from the Heart is important as it is an Indigenous designed and led
initiative, which clearly states what meaningful constitutional recognition means to First Nations
peoples.
ANSA supports the recommendations made by the From the Heart campaign in response to the
Interim Report to the Australian Government: Indigenous Voice CoDesign Process. These include:
1. The Government must honour its election commitment to a referendum once a model for the
Voice has been settled to ensure that a First Nations Voice to Parliament is protected by the
Constitution;
2. Enabling legislation for the Voice must be passed after a referendum has been held in the
next term of Parliament; and
3. The membership model for the National Voice must ensure previously unheard Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people have the same chance of being selected as established
leadership figures.
We believe the National Voice should be representative of the diverse populations and needs of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We think it is important to enshrine the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution to guarantee stability
and certainty, rather than include it only in legislation.
Australians and the Australian diaspora should sit down and listen to the message of the Uluru
Statement from the Heart and each one of us find in our own heart, respect for our country's first
peoples, their ancestors and future generations. And when we have listened, stand up beside them
and walk with them across the land, allowing with each step their voice to become louder and their
presence become stronger, leading us all to a better place.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our submission.
Yours sincerely
Tyler Riordan Sarah Haggar Carolyn West
Chairperson Secretary Media Officer
Liz Hydesmith Traci Sudana
Committee Member Committee Member
