Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia and as the traditional owners of this land for over 60,000 years. I also acknowledge and pay my respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, on whose ancestral lands we meet today. It is an honour to stand here in Australia's parliament and offer my support for the Voice to Parliament and the proposed change to our Constitution. I urge the parliament to pass the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023.

The time for the Voice and the constitutional amendment has well and truly come. In fact, it is long overdue. Our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has described the Uluru Statement from the Heart as 'a generous offer from our First Nations people'. He is absolutely correct. The Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon. Linda Burney, sees the proposed referendum as a unifying moment for Australia. This is based on recognition of over 65,000 years of continuous connection to land by First Nations people and listening to grassroots solutions to help close the gap and improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is a historic opportunity which we must not ignore.

Governments of all persuasions have been at best only partly successful in leading the community in reducing the inequalities facing Indigenous families and communities. These inequalities are in everyday life and in the opportunities available for current and future generations. Over the last 20 years there have been welcome improvements, including in infant mortality rates and the number of First Nations people completing year 12 or above. But today in 2023 Indigenous Australians live about nine years less than non-Indigenous Australians. And we can see vast inequalities in health status, unemployment levels and imprisonment rates across Australia. We as a community have a long way to go to close the gap. We have to do things differently if we want positive results, and I truly believe that the Voice to Parliament is a vital element of that new way.

The Voice will be an independent, representative advisory body. It will speak to the parliament and to the executive government. It is not a third chamber of parliament; rather, as the Attorney-General said in his second reading speech, the Voice:

… complements the existing structures of Australia's democratic system and enhances the normal functioning of government and the law.

Adding to that democratic element is the assurance that regional voices are an important component of the Voice. It's about grassroots solutions being heard in Canberra.

Our local Indigenous community leaders urge all Australians to support the Voice. Local Indigenous gentleman and advocate Mark Bloxsome and his wife, Lynda, who I met with recently, are concerned:

There is a lot of confusion and misinformation out there about the Voice … The referendum … is about overdue constitutional recognition. The confusion and misinformation getting around is actually clouding the issue.

Uncle Richard Davis is a Dharawal man who was born in Wollongong and grew up in Coomaditchie in Kemblawarra. As chairman of the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation he is following in the footsteps of his parents, who were instrumental in founding the organisation. He says:

The Voice to Parliament is the right thing to do. It's as simple as that.

We have never been acknowledged formally in the constitution as the first custodians of this country, and it is time for that to occur. The Voice is something we can build on and build a better future for everyone in this country.

Dr Jodi Edwards, a Yuin Dharawal custodian, has dedicated her life to connecting with and forming local communities and contributing to Aboriginal education across New South Wales. She says:

We need to support the Voice to parliament. The Voice will help reshape and shape laws and policies which affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities, and enable Parliament to gain direct input … about their future.

Michelle Wilson is from the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation dedicated to raising the esteem, pride and dignity of young Aboriginal people in their culture and heritage. Her hope is that the Voice will provide more practical and realistic advice to government.

I wholeheartedly support the legislation and urge all Australians to vote yes in the referendum.

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