Statement - Voice to Parliament

The St Vincent de Paul Society welcomes the release by Prime Minister Albanese on Saturday of the draft question to be put to Australians by referendum to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The release of the draft question—and the draft additions to the Constitution to enshrine the Voice should the referendum be successful—is an important step forward in our national journey of healing and a step towards justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia’s First Peoples.

As set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, improved outcomes will only be achieved when First Nations people are able to ‘live in dignity, to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions and to pursue their self-determined development, in keeping with their own needs and aspirations’.

The Society supports a First Nations Voice to Parliament to give Indigenous Australians a say in the policies and laws that affect them. We support the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to oversee the important process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

We encourage our Parliamentarians and all Australians to answer the invitation of Indigenous Australians, expressed so generously through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to walk together to create a better future.