Embed Indigenous wisdom

Support a First Nations Voice to Parliament

This October, Australia is presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a significant and historical change with the referendum on a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

Did you know that Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world that has a colonial history and doesn’t recognise First Peoples in its founding document or constitution?

On Saturday October 14, Australia will hold a referendum to change that by establishing a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament.

What is a First Nations Voice to Parliament?

While the spreading of misinformation has caused a lot of confusion around what the Voice is and isn’t, the idea is actually very straightforward and practical.

A Voice to Parliament will be a representative committee of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are elected to proactively give advice to Parliament on matters that affect Indigenous communities. The government will be required to listen and formally consider the recommendations put forward and parliamentary sovereignty will remain. The importance of enshrining the Voice in the constitution ensures that it is a permanent and independent body that cannot be dismantled or influenced by the government of the day.

The plan and vision of the Voice comes directly from the Uluru Statement from the Heart - the most comprehensive consultation of First Nations people that Australia has ever seen. Twelve Regional Dialogues were held across Australia throughout 2016-2017, during which more than 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the country came together to deliberate and think about which reforms would have the most impact in their communities. The Voice is the result of years of nationwide input and careful design work by Indigenous people. It comes with a mountain of detail, including a 262-page report. Senior political figures have had two years to read it.

By saying yes, we can build a future where First Nations people are respected, listened to and valued as the oldest living culture in the world.

Combat disinformation with this fact sheet.

How will the Voice give First Nations peoples more agency in decision making that affects them?

Currently, there’s no way for First Nations peoples to properly have their say before the government makes decisions for or about them. The Voice will be able to talk directly to the Parliament and executive government early on in the development of laws and policies. When communities are listened to, we get the best outcomes.

How will the Voice representatives be chosen?

Local communities will select their representatives on the Voice in the ways they choose and those representatives will be diverse in gender, culture and age perspective. This means that the decisions, laws and policies that relate to First Nations peoples will be informed by the people with the relevant lived experience which will lead to better outcomes for people. The Voice will sit alongside other already existing representative groups (such as land councils etc). It won’t cut across or take away from this important work already happening - rather, it will have a specific function to provide representation to the government as a representative body.

What’s happening now?

There are some significant hurdles that need to be recognised and overcome for this referendum to be successful with a positive “Yes” outcome. In Australia, there are no legal requirements for political advertising to be truthful or fact checked and so, not surprisingly, there are many groups taking advantage of this political loop-hole along with significant funds being spent to spread fear and misinformation.

Ensuring that the Yes campaign is successful will require all of us coming together to learn, listen, and have meaningful conversations about the values that we share and what side of history we want to be on. After-all, the antidote to misinformation is a conversation with someone you trust.

We have collated a list of credible resources and a variety of ways to learn more and get involved in supporting the Yes campaign:

Yes 23

Yes23 is the central campaign organisation for The Voice. It is a grassroots organisation led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and powered by volunteers. You do not have to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to volunteer with them and to get involved in the campaign for the Yes vote, and every small effort can help.

According to Yes 23, if each supporter convinced just three undecided people to vote Yes – there will be a resounding Yes result at the referendum.

The Uluru Statement

The Uluru Dialogue represents the cultural authority of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and leads community education on the Uluru Statement’s reforms of Voice, Treaty and Truth. They exist as an advocacy and education group and have a strong grassroots connection. Through their website they have provided some useful educational resources to familiarise yourself with what The Uluru Statement is calling for in a Voice to Parliament.

Passing the Message Stick

Passing the Message Stick is a groundbreaking multi-year First Nations-led research project designed to shift public narrative in support of First Nations justice and self-determination. In 2023, they are building the next phase of their research to find persuasive messages that build support for transformative change, like treaties, truth-telling and representation, now and beyond the referendum.

Reconciliation Australia

Reconciliation Australia is an independent not-for profit organisation, the lead body for reconciliation in Australia. They promote and facilitate reconciliation by building relationships, respect and trust between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Together, Yes

Together, Yes is a kitchen conversations movement in support of a YES vote in the 2023 referendum on a First Nations Voice to parliament. It’s a powerful way you can participate in the upcoming referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice in our constitution.

Women for Yes

Women For Yes is a new campaign initiative from Together, Yes and Yes 23 aimed at galvanising women and gender diverse people across Australia to support the Voice to Parliament. The campaign is aiming to inspire women to host kitchen table conversations with their friends and community to strengthen support for the Yes vote.

Multicultural Australia For Voice

Australia is a diverse and multicultural country, but we are all living on unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Finding ways to speak with the diverse multicultural communities around the country is vital. If your family or community don’t speak English as their first language we encourage you to explore the resources that are available on the Multicultural Australia website.

Clothing the Gaps

Clothing the Gaps are an Aboriginal social enterprise uniting people through fashion and cause. Producing merch with a message and encouraging people to wear their values on their tee. They exist to Educate, Elevate, Advocate and Motivate.

Create Yes

Create Yes is an initiative of leading creative agencies across this vast land of Australia, who’ve joined forces to create a groundswell for a resounding ‘Yes’. Their goal is to use creativity to get people behind the Yes vote and to inspire respectful conversations around the First Nations Voice to Parliament in the lead up to the Referendum. Create Yes are calling all creative Australians to help spread a message of support for the Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

GetUp!

GetUp! is a well known progressive advocacy group who run community campaigns on a variety of issues. They are currently led by Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, a Widjabul Wiabal/Bundjalung woman who was also a co-founder of SeedMob. To support the Yes campaign, GetUp is running a series of community events that you can volunteer at.

Learning Resources

We encourage you to go further and do your own research and educate yourself on topics affecting First Nations leadership and governance in Australian politics. Below are some questions to consider, put together by educators from Culture is Life.

Some questions to consider include:

  • What are the current federal and state government structures in Australia? How were these built and how do they include and exclude First Nations people?
  • What is sovereignty?
  • What is self-determination?
  • How did Aboriginal government look like before colonisation?
  • What is leadership? How do we develop leaders at a political and community level? Why is it important to develop leaders at a community level?
  • What is a Treaty and some examples globally?
  • Why doesn’t a treaty exist in Australia and what are the impacts of this?
  • What is happening at state levels to develop treaties in Australia?
  • How does Australia's current constitution reflect its First Peoples? How have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people been treated in this Country and how is this reflected or impacted by the colonial laws and policies of the Australian government?
  • What is the Uluru Statement from the Heart? When was it written, what was the process and what is its call to action?
  • What do I understand and what is my own opinion and biases on treaties in and the current states treaty process?

You can also learn more about investing in First Nations leadership and Voice to Parliament here.

Supporting a First Nations Voice to Parliament is part of a larger collective response. Learn more and find other actions about embedding indigenous wisdom.

Know of any other groups or resources? Share your ideas.