Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The senator is right: constitutional recognition through a Voice is about recognition and it is about listening. Recognition will make us as a nation stronger and more united by finally recognising our First Peoples, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in our Constitution. It is also about listening, making sure we are listening, through the Voice, to our First Nations people on the issues that affect their lives. As Senator McCarthy said today, the Voice has the support of the vast majority of Indigenous people: around eight in 10 support a voice to the parliament. And the Voice referendum is an opportunity to take our nation forward. The Voice's advisory power means that people in Canberra can listen to and learn from our First Nations people before they make the decisions that impact them.