Advocate for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Thomas Mayor, visited Newcastle on March 10, seeking the community’s support for a First Nations Voice to Parliament to give Indigenous Australians constitutional recognition.
Mayor is a National Indigenous Officer of the Maritime Union of Australia and author of Finding The Heart of The Nation: The journey of the Uluru Statement towards Voice, Treaty and Truth.
The Torres Strait Islander man born in Larrakia Country in Darwin has been travelling for 18 months around Australia with the sacred canvas of the Uluru Statement garnering support for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission for truth-telling and treaty-making.
Newcastle community members, council representatives, trade union representatives and community organisations gathered on March 10 to hear Mayor speak at Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon’s office.
“It was such an hour to be able to host Thomas – we had a packed room full of people from a vast range of community organisations, networks and just genuinely interested individuals,” Claydon said.
“The Uluru Statement is a generous gift to the nation – inviting us to walk together with First Nations people in a movement to build a better future.”
Mayor said the Uluru Statement represented a historic consensus of Indigenous leaders in seeking constitutional change and structural reforms.
“The Uluru Statement is a culmination of many lessons throughout the history of colonisation about how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can be recognised and empowered in this country,” Mayor said.
“It’s a statement that covers this history in a really eloquent and powerful way and describes what is ultimately the torment of our powerlessness, our structural exclusion and the decisions that are made for us.
“The Uluru Statement invites the Australian people to walk with us and help us enshrine a First Nations voice in Parliament and establish a Makarrata Constitution for truth-telling and agreement making.”
Mayor said a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to advise the Parliament on policies and projects that affected them.
“Symbolically, constitutional recognition for all Indigenous Australians would produce a unified and mature country where First Nations people could finally take their rightful place,” Mayor said.
“It would mean First Nations people would be a part of decision-making at all levels of government.
“We have rich knowledge and have been custodians of this land for over 60,000 years—our contribution to decision-making would have a very beneficial effect.
“I think all sides of government could agree that when it comes to decisions concerning Indigenous Australians, the best decisions are made when we are involved, so this structural reform would help amplify our voice and guarantee that we are heard.”
Claydon said if Labor formed government at the next federal election, a referendum on a First Nations voice would be a priority.
“Forty-five years ago, the nation backed in the 1967 Referendum to change the Constitution so that the Commonwealth could make laws in respect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and included them in the census,” Claydon said.
“Now we have the chance to make good on the unfinished business that remains.
“I’m calling on the Newcastle community to get involved with the campaign to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It’s been a long journey, and there is still much work to be done.”
Mayor said that polling by Crosby Textor indicated that almost 60 per cent of Australians would vote ‘yes’ in a referendum.
“There’s over 20 per cent of Australians who are still undecided, so if we share the Uluru Statement and encourage others to read it, we could really turn those undecided votes into ‘yes’ votes and push this forward.”
Mayor said another important action that community members could take was writing to local politicians and representatives.
“We will work with whoever wins the federal election towards a referendum, and we think that we can move it along quickly because most Australians already support this,” Mayor said.
“With the right political leadership and support in our communities, we can certainly win a historic referendum, just like we did in 1967 when we were counted in the census, so … be ready, I say.”
Hayley McMahon
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