CEO message: Voice to Parliament
With the official launch of the “Yes” campaign to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, CMY is proud to pledge its support of the campaign.
We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart recommendations calling for Voice, Treaty, and Truth. CMY strongly believes that the first recommendation of a Voice to Parliament is both a meaningful and empowering step towards Australia’s First Nations peoples having a say in the matters that affect them.
According to the Australian Reconciliation Barometer, a national research survey conducted every two years by Reconciliation Australia, “87% of Australians believe it is important to protect an Indigenous Body within the Constitution, so any government can’t remove it.” The Referendum to be held later this year will give all Australians the opportunity to have their say.
As allies of Australia’s First Nations peoples, we each have a role to play in working together to address racism and systemic issues of political and social exclusion, economic disadvantage, and health inequality. Working with young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, CMY’s Reconciliation Action Plan is focused on strengthening connections between multicultural young people, families and communities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
By supporting Indigenous Constitutional Recognition and voting Yes to a Voice to Parliament, we have the opportunity to be part of an important and unifying step towards building a shared future and helping to heal past injustices for First Nations peoples.
The recent commentary targeting multicultural communities by the “No” campaign is a divisive and unhelpful distraction. I urge you all to inform yourselves: read up on the history leading up to this important moment, and engage with the views and perspectives of First Nations Australians on what a Voice to Parliament means to them. Start a conversation with your friends, colleagues and families to help them understand what the Referendum means and how it is hoped it will change Australia for the better.
There is no greater democratic decision of our time than the impending vote on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition.
I encourage you to learn more at the links below.
Carmel Guerra OAM
CEO CMY
Learn:
https://fromtheheart.com.au/education
https://ulurustatement.org
Read:
https://fromtheheart.com.au/what-is-a-voice-to-parliament
https://ulurustatement.org/education/translations
Watch:
What is ‘A Voice to Parliament’? | Learning with From the Heart