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Voice to Parliament

Where's The Recognition?

The Voice is Our Key

Closing the Gap

Contribution for Legal Decisions

Concept Supported

The culture of Indigenous Australians has been around for 65,000 years and there is not a single mention of an advisory body that represents them in our 122-year-old constitution.

Even though Indigenous Australians were finally added into the constitution in 1967, that is nowhere enough to consider it as 'full constitutional recognition'.

Are we really going to ignore that our First Nations people are still not yet fully recognised?

It's time to push forward Australia.

Current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has announced an upcoming referendum this year to vote on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament movement. The Voice is a representative advisory body for First Nations people, allowing them to advise Parliament and Government on matters that affect them.

We must push forward and allow our Indigenous community to have a voice in parliament by voting yes.

Three key reasons:

  • It opens up a path for Indigenous communities to help inform legal decisions and policies that impact their lives.
  • As a step towards reconciliation, it will help with closing the gap.
  • Majority of Australians agree that it's time for change for our Indigenous community.

Contribution absolutely matters.

Discussion Paper and From The Heart

Voice to Parliament is a vital, powerful movement that will allow Indigenous communities to help inform policies and decisions that affect their lives.

Currently, there is not a single process that enables Indigenous people to provide advice themselves for policy-making. Instead, politicians and bureaucrats are in charge of making decisions for the community, not with them (From The Heart, 2023). There is no denying that this method is simply ineffective, exclusive and biased. Wouldn't it be far more beneficial and inclusive if Indigenous people are able to provide advise themselves to Parliament?

In the Indigenous Voice Discussion Paper by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (2023), the document explains how a Local, Regional and National voice would work. The document states that a Local and Regional voice would allow communities to, "work in partnership with all governments to make plans on how to meet community aspirations and deliver on local priorities," and will, "provide local views to the National Voice where this informs national issues." In addition, it states that the National voice would allow people to, "engage early on with the Australian Parliament and Government on the development of relevant policies and laws." This section of the document gives a clear overview on how the Voice to Parliament will run on local, regional and national level and what actions will be done for each level.

From The Heart (2023) is a campaign created for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. It states on its website that, "Constitutional recognition through a Voice will deliver real and practical advice to Parliament and the Government on how laws and policies can best improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

Incorporating a First Nation's voice will highly benefit Indigenous communities as it will allow them to contribute to policies and legal decisions that impact their lives.

The gap will finally be closed.

Closing the gap will definitely be more efficient to work towards with a First Nation's voice.

To take another step towards reconciliation means to respect our Indigenous community and working together to overcome the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Major Life Chance Difference

Even today there is still a gap between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. The average life expectancy for Indigenous males is 71.6 years (80.2 years for non-Indigenous males) and 75.6 years for Indigenous females (83.6 years for non-Indigenous females). (Australia Government, 2023)

Along with incarceration rates, educational achievement and employment, it is unfair, inequitable and disheartening that there is a major difference in life chances between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. How would you feel if you know that your success rate at life has a major difference to other groups?Successfully closing the gap between these demographics will require a First Nation's voice to be embedded into the constitution. This will allow Indigenous Australians to speak about ongoing issues that affect them such as education, housing and healthcare.

If we want to achieve proper reconciliation with our Indigenous community, then the next big step requires the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations to be closed. The Voice itself is the missing puzzle piece that will close up the gap to benefit our Indigenous communities.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-13/how-will-the-voice-help-to-close-the-gap/101968296

Change is neccesary to move on.

Nationwide, Australians agree that it's time for change for Indigenous Australians.

According to the Australian Reconciliation Barometer (a two-yearly survey for attitudes towards reconciliation), results show that 80 percent of the Australian community agree that a national Indigenous body is a significant matter. In addition, 87 percent of Australians also agree that it is important to protect the Indigenous Body in the constitution (Reconciliation Australia, 2023).

Anthony Albanese, our current Prime Minister, has been fully consistent in his support for the Voice. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has openly promised to deliver a Voice referendum before December 2023. In July 2022 at a Garma festival, Albanese presented himself with a speech encouraging the public to vote for the Voice, "I respect everyone's right to make their own decision on the referendum, but I encourage Australians to consider the generous and gracious request from First Nations people." (ABC, 2023)

The concept of a First Nations voice is widely supported across the whole of Australia and is even supported by the current Prime Minister. We all must stand together as a nation and show our support for the Voice.

What Are We Waiting For?

One For All, All For One.

Bibliography

Voting yes for the upcoming referendum is absolutely essential to push forward and allow our Indigenous Australians to have a First Nation's voice.

A First Nation's voice is the optimal solution because:

• It will allow Indigenous communities to contribute to policies and legal decisions impacting their lives

• It is the best approach towards reconciliation and closing the gap

• It is an idea that is supported nationwide.

It’s time that we all stand up, recognise and support First Nation Australians to enshrine a voice in Australia's constitution.

Bibliography

Australia Government. (2020). Life Expectancy | Closing the Gap Report 2020. Closing the Gap. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/life-expectancy

Closing the Gap. (n.d.). CLOSING THE GAP TARGETS AND OUTCOMES. Closing the Gap. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/targets

Indigenous Voice. (2021). Indigenous Voice Discussion Paper. Indigenous Voice. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://voice.niaa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/indigenous-voice-discussion-paper-2.docx

Morse, D., & Ross, J. (2022, December 28). Anthony Albanese promises to deliver Voice referendum by December 2023. ABC News. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-28/anthony-albanese-promises-voice-referendum-by-december-2023/101813422

Reconciliation Australia. (2023, March 17). Support a Voice to Parliament. Reconciliation Australia. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/support-a-voice-to-parliament/

Yes 23. Yes23.com.au. (2023). Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://fromtheheart.com.au/what-is-a-voice-to-parliament/#:~:text=Constitutional%20recognition%20through%20a%20Voice%20to%20Parliament%20is%20a%20body,projects%20that%20impact%20their%20lives.

(Note that the website Yes 23 was origanally the From the Heart Website before it was changed.)

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