We, members of the four Northern Territory Aboriginal land councils, acknowledging our elders and old people, have gathered again at Barunga, the site of the historic Barunga Statement in 1988 and the Barunga Agreement in 2018, with pride in our own laws, cultures and ceremonies, looking to the future.
We, who have been dispossessed and subjected to punitive controls by governments, who have never ceded sovereignty over our lands and waters, resolve with one heart our determined support for the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
We must right the wrongs of the past and deal with the serious issues impacting First Nations peoples, empower First Nations peoples and unite our country.
We call for the recognition of First Nations peoples in our still young constitution by enshrining our voice to the parliament and executive government, never to be rendered silent with the stroke of a pen again.
We need to be heard and urge our fellow Australians to stand with us and vote ‘yes’ in the forthcoming referendum, for the sake of a better future for all of us.
These are the words of the Barunga Voice Declaration, signed by members of the Northern, Central, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa Land Councils of the Northern Territory at the Barunga Festival in June this year.
These land councils represent thousands of residents of remote communities, town camps and towns across the Territory.
Tahe Barunga Declaration’s “determined support for the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart” further underscores the strong First Nations’ support for a voice.
It reinforces the call of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be heard; for us all to listen.
It is a call for us all to understand the long struggle for recognition, justice and fairness.
A call that urges all Australians to stand together, to build a better future together for us all.
To grasp this amazing opportunity to say what sort of country we want to be.
So, let’s consider what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — through the Uluru Statement from the Heart — really asked for?
The request is modest.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people asked for recognition to be in the form of a Voice to Parliament — something practical and simple.
To have a say in matters that affect their lives and communities.
This is such a straightforward proposition.
To be able to take responsibility for their own future and to have input into how government policies will work.
To have a secure, formal mechanism for empowerment, for working in partnership with government – not just a symbolic act of recognition.
To have recognition through a Voice to Parliament, enshrined — and protected — in the Constitution.
“Never to be rendered silent with the stroke of the pen.”
First Nations communities know only too well how important policies can be diluted, lost or changed at the will of governments.
How disruptive this has been for the continuity and efficacy of so many programs.
How exhausting it has been for communities who have to start again when a new government has been elected — to go back to square one — as has happened in the past. And this has been regardless of which party has been in government.
Curator of the new Lume Connection exhibition in Melbourne, Indigenous photographer Professor Wayne Quillam, clearly described this disruptive process: “In the past, once the government changed, everything that we created went out the door and we had to start from the beginning.
“This time, we get the opportunity to ensure that it doesn’t matter what government is in, we will have that Voice.”
The importance of having an independent, stable Voice that can offer frank advice to government — without the fear of being removed if the advice does not fit with current government policies — is abundantly clear to First Nations peoples.
A Voice that can work to ensure policies, programs and resources are well-targeted, can lead to more practical and effective outcomes.
It is well recognised that knowledge, experience and wisdom from people in communities leads to better outcomes on the ground.
An example of this is the success of Birthing on Country led by First Nations women and families.
This combines the cultural wisdom of grandmothers’ ways of birthing with the western medicine needed to treat the diseases of colonisation.
Listening to these voices has resulted in a 50 per cent lowering of rates of premature births.
It is just one example of how listening to First Nations’ voices can make a difference. How it can deliver practical change.
So it’s worth considering what would be the result if you vote No.
This referendum is asking all Australians a simple question:
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
You are not voting on a Treaty or different model.
There is no other option being presented in this referendum.
A no vote means doing nothing.
More of the same.
Accepting the status quo.
It means continuing to have non-Indigenous people across government developing policies and strategies for First Nations people.
It means accepting the shocking annual Closing the Gap figures, which focus the spotlight on the profound failure of decades of policy without consultation.
So more of the same is clearly not the answer.
As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, how can we allow this to continue?
It is — by any measure — unacceptable and must change.
We can — and must — do better.
A Voice to Parliament means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people — who know and understand their communities so well — will have a formal way for developing solutions themselves alongside government.
While this will not be an overnight fix, consider how much more effective government programs would be if they are informed by the people who are best placed to have the solutions?
As Professor Megan Davis wrote recently in the Quarterly Essay: “… the “Yes” campaign speaks to an optimistic and inclusive future, with a practical change aimed at recognising and empowering First Nations …”
With the referendum, we are offered a chance to start over in our relationship with First Nations people.
This simple question, and your answer, holds the key.
In the words of Djirribul woman, KPMG partner and board member and chief executive of Arilla Indigenous Consulting Shelley Reys: “Now let’s look forward. Let’s take an unapologetic, brave stance on this referendum to propel us further and faster towards a reconciled nation, by saying yes.”
For more information go to
https://vicaboriginalnews.com.au/van-ref23-tapes/
https://yes23.com.au/faqs-about-the-referendum
Quarterly Essay No 90 2023 Voice of Reason: On recognition and Renewal by Megan Davis
The Voice to Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien.
Both books are available through local booksellers.