2338

  1. Home
  2. Resources
  3. Submissions
  4. 2338

Submissions: Your Feedback

Submissions from people and organisations who have agreed to have their feedback published are provided below.

The views expressed in these submissions belong to their authors. The National Indigenous Australians Agency reserved the right not to publish submissions, or parts of submissions, that include, for example, material that is offensive, racist, potentially defamatory, personal information, is a copy of previously provided materials, or does not relate to the consultation process.

An auto-generated transcript of submissions provided as attachments has been made available to assist with accessibility. These transcripts may contain transcription errors. Please refer to the source file for the original content.

Please note not all submissions are provided in an attachment. For submissions without an attachment, click on the name of the person or organisation to view the text.

Site functionality has recently been improved. You can now search by participant name and submission number. You can also click on the number, date and participant column headings to sort the order of submissions.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that submissions may contain images or names of deceased people.

If you require any further assistance please contact Co-designVoice@niaa.gov.au.

 

Submission Number
2338
Participant
Sam Street
Submission date

To whom it may concern

Submission for Co-design process

I was born to white parents in Australia and can trace my ancestry through many generations back to Europe. I grew up in Brisbane on Yuggera land and now reside in Newcastle on Awabakal land. I have been working in the not-for-profit sector for over 15 years and currently work as the Services Director for Christians Against Poverty, a national debt help charity. I love this country and all the people that reside here and all the histories they come from and I choose to live this out in my vocation.

It is so important that the history and culture from the foundations of this great south land are not lost. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an earnest yearning for a fair and truthful relationship for all people of Australia and a better future for this beautiful country. It is a yearning born out of our nation's mistreatment, neglect and disregard that desperately needs to be rectified or we will lose forever the beautiful gift we have in this country of First Nations people.

Establishing a Voice to Parliament for First Nations people directly impacts our local communities. At the core of establishing a Voice to Parliament is defining what Australia means. The values we all desire such as respect and honour of one another, care for the environment, freedom to be our true selves. When we do this it will bring a brighter future for all. This definition of who we are then flows into the systems we operate by and build. Education, social structures, decision making processes, justice and security, etc. currently leave people behind, sometimes deliberately.

Indigenous people must have a say in all matters of this country and that starts with the matters that directly affect them. When they have power and freedom over their destiny they will flourish. As Indigenous people flourish then we as a country will all benefit. Though I must say that even if my life was not impacted at all by the flourishing of Indigenous people it would still be worth doing.

The Voice to Parliament absolutely must be enshrined in the Constitution it cannot be considered in half-measures. If we can only go so far as including it in legislation we will have achieved nothing because underlying all our efforts will still be a lack of truth-telling about our history.

A First Nations Voice to Parliament has been overdue since the first Australian Parliament of 1901. Let's not continue this neglect of a beautiful history and culture that is key to our future.

Yours sincerely,
Sam Street

 

 

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past, present and emerging.