2837

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Submissions: Your Feedback

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

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Submission Number
2837
Participant
Eleanor Davey
Submission date

Eleanor Davey
Blairgowrie, VIC 3942

To Co-Design Body

Submission to Co-design process

I am a researcher and writer, a historian by training and a scholar of humanitarianism. I work at the Humanitarian Advisory Group, an independent organisation which specialises in improving the outcomes of humanitarian aid through analysis and empowering change.

Why do you think the Uluru Statement from the Heart is important?
I believe the Uluru Statement from the Heart presents a vital opportunity to our country to recognise wholeheartedly the injustices that have been, and still are, enacted in its name, and in so doing to move forward to a more inclusive and fulfilling future where equality of respect, recognition and experience is not just aspirational. While it represents the voices and views of Indigenous people, it is an invitation to all of us to walk a better path together.

Why is it important for Indigenous people to have a say in the matters that affect them?
Indigenous people must have a say in the matters that affect them because of the terrible consequences of unrepresentative decision-making - whether through destructive actions or damaging inaction - on the lives of Indigenous people today. Historical injustices are compounded by unresolved legacies and present-day discrimination. The consequences for the health, wellbeing, safety and prosperity of Indigenous people are devastating. It has to change.

Why do you think it's important to enshrine the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, rather than include it only in legislation?
I believe that constitutional protection of the Voice to Parliament is essential to ensure that the Voice is assured a permanent and secure place in the governance of our nation. I believe the authority that would come with being enshrined in the Constitution is important to the public standing of the Voice to Parliament as well as to recognition of the centrality of Indigenous people to our nation, history and community.

How could a Voice to Parliament improve the lives of your community?
Having an Indigenous Voice to Parliament would represent a crucial step towards a society where we all felt able to participate and be respected as equals, a society which does not tolerate the marginalisation of or discrimination against any of its members. This diminishes us all and limits our collective potential.

Thank you for allowing the opportunity to express my support for a constitutionally guaranteed Indigenous Voice to Parliament and for the process of voice, truth, treaty that only a full reckoning with our past and our present can hope to achieve.

Yours sincerely,
Eleanor Davey

 

 

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