Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission in response to the Indigenous Voice Discussion Paper.
For the past four decades I have lived at Bondi on the land of the Gadigal people. I am writing this submission because I recognise the colonisation of this land was violent and has not been fully acknowledged as such. I am committed to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as essential to healing of this stain on our history.
The lack of recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples in the current constitution, given our history, is an essential preliminary step. The Australian constitution has been used to benefit white Australians at the expense of the country’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It’s time to make a change that's more than rhetoric and symbolism.
I support the very measured and reasonable demands of Indigenous Australians:
That the government must honour its election commitment to a referendum once the model for the Voice has been settled;
That enabling legislation for the Voice must be passed after a referendum has been held in the next term of Parliament; and
That 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.
Enshrining the Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution will contribute to a just recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and progress the struggle for sovereignty and self-determination.
I thank you for considering my submission and look forward to your considered response.
Kind Regards,
Anna Russell
