Lorraine Cherney
(redacted)
Dear Co-Design Body
Co-design process: Submission for Lorraine Cherney
I'm originally from Northern Ireland and have had the pleasure to be in Australia for 20 years now. I've grown-up and lived with conflict and know the long lasting impacts of it well. I'm also aware of the powerful impact that can be made when we, as a community, come together and acknowledge what/ where we've gone wrong and how we should act in the future.
Why do you think the Uluru Statement from the Heart is important?
It's beyond time for this to happen. Australian's will not be able to unite and heal (& repair damage from the past) to this occurs.
How could a Voice to Parliament improve the lives of your community?
We will all benefit as a society by helping our fellow man (& woman & child). It's time to offer a helping hand to Indigenous Australians and as a society/community the benefits will flow.
Why is it important for Indigenous people to have a say in the matters that affect them?
For too long Indigenous Australians have been on the receiving end of far too many policies with no input into their design, implementation, or evaluation, nor consideration as to whether the policies are appropriate in the first place. White Australians need to make space for Indigenous Australians. We need to hear Indigenous voices when it comes to policies that impact Indigenous peoples.
Why do you think it's important to enshrine the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, rather than include it only in legislation?
Why would we only offer tokenism? Tokenism has never helped anyone. Let's do this, and do it right.
Get this done!
Yours sincerely,
Lorraine Cherney
