Re: INDIGENOUS VOICE –submission
The ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ calls for a Constitutionally enshrined First Nation’s
Voice, as an essential and timely step towards coming together as a Nation and respectfully
and earnestly resounding with our minds and hearts to the aspirations of First Nations
people for facilitating more collaborative and participatory processes in decision-making.
A National Voice is a significant mechanism for collaborative consultation and participation,
which holds the potential to facilitate more inclusive leadership through the deliberation of
all relevant stakeholders, greater accountability, and more responsive and sustainable
decision-making.
At the same time, the proposal for a National Voice, can facilitate forums for dialogue and
shared decision-making to enhance stakeholder engagement and foster better relationships
&/ partnerships with key Aboriginal stakeholders &/communities at both National &
regional levels of government.
Ensuring that First Nations’ people’s aspirations are recognised, and the National Voice is
constitutionally enshrined, requires a shared understanding & earnest collective
commitment to advancing the heart & soul of Uluru Statement.
In essence, this proposal for Constitutional change embodies a significant step forward for
the whole Nation in ensuring that the democratic processes of participation and
empowerment are realised for all Australians.
From a therapeutic justice perspective, according ‘voice’ and ‘choice’, through meaningful
Aboriginal community &/stakeholder engagement and participation, constitute essential
tenets of procedural justice, and instrumentally form important therapeutic pre-conditions
to facilitating collective healing and wellbeing.
