Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday, I had the honour of hosting a forum with my friend the Attorney-General in the Ipswich suburb of Leichhardt. The forum focused on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. It came about when respected local Aboriginal elder Aunty Vera Short approached me to help explain the Voice to local elders. I did one better and brought the Attorney-General to Ipswich. Up to 100 people were there—local branches of the Labor Party, members of the community and, of course, local First Nations people.

It was a very successful meeting. Everyone pledged to support the 'yes' campaign, and I recommit myself to supporting the 'yes' campaign in Blair. Thanks to the Leichhardt One Mile Community Centre for hosting a light breakfast—a big thank you to centre coordinator, Kym Tuuta, along with Dakota, Emma, Aunty Vera and all the staff and volunteers. I want thank local elders who came along. We discussed issues like the Voice in depth and a host of other issues, like child safety and the collapse of the Youpla funeral fund. I want to acknowledge some of the local Aunties, who make such a great contribution in Ipswich: Sheryl Thompson, Maria Baker, Ellie Conway, Aileen Orcher, Rebecca Mahar, Ruth Moffatt and, of course, the deeply loved Vera Short. I thank also Labor Indigenous Network Aunties Isabele Tarago and Rhonda Kelly, who came from the northern suburbs of Brisbane to make sure they were backing in the local Aboriginal elders. Thank you very much. Let's get this done for the people of Ipswich.