Authors of Uluru statement offer Voice advice: If you don’t know, ask us
Architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart are holding a series of public discussions to help voters in the lead-up to the referendum on a First Nations voice.
People hold up a Yes sign during a walk for the Yes vote event in Sydney. (AAP Image/Steve Markham)
Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson and Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis will visit a series of cities to talk about the history of the Uluru Statement and origins of the voice proposal, starting in Melbourne on Monday.
“There’s a lot at issue here and so we need to approach this with some joy, but also with consideration and understanding so we all know what it’s about and what we’re doing,” Ms Anderson told AAP.
“We’re hoping to cut through the noise and let people ask what they need so we can blow away the cobwebs and do it with a good heart.”
The Uluru Statement from the Heart was born from a series of regional dialogues between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people held across the country, culminating in a national constitutional convention at Uluru in 2017.
Ms Anderson convened the dialogues.
‘No’ supporters on Monday night gathered in Adelaide where hundreds of people listened to Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warren Mundine speak about the reasons not to support the voice.
Mr Mundine, a leading ‘no’ proponent whose position is at odds with fellow campaigners because he believes in treaties, told Sky News on Monday that Australia was an amazing country where migrants and First Nations people have built incredible institutions.
“My focus, because it is such an important thing, is to defeat this lie of a referendum and crush it,” he said.
“The ’67 referendum was about … being treated as equal.
“In fact, all the racist laws and discriminatory laws in Australia disappeared after that referendum.”
Section 51 (xxvi) of the Constitution – known as ‘the race power’ – grants the Australian Commonwealth the power to make special laws for people of any race.
In 2007, the federal government suspended the Racial Discrimination Act so they could enact legislation specifically targeting Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.
Ms Anderson said more than 40 ‘yes’ marches over the weekend demonstrated what the Uluru Statement from the Heart is about: an invitation to the Australian people from First Nations people to walk with them for a better shared future.
“Ordinary Aussies showed their solidarity with us, which is what people said at the regional dialogues,” she said.
“That’s why the Uluru Statement from the Heart was gifted to the Australian people – because, as participants said at the regional dialogues ‘They helped us in ’67, so we’ll ask them, and they’re going to help us again’.”
The conversations, hosted by Uluru Statement signatory Kirstie Parker, further the Uluru Dialogue’s commitment to ensuring all Australians have all the facts so that they can make an informed decision come referendum day.
“There’s so much disinformation and misinformation – so much noise – that people are really confused,” Ms Anderson said.
“With that confusion comes fear.
“So what we’re hoping to do is to talk reasonably, walk them through a whole lot of things, tell them some stories, what people said to us at the regional dialogues, why this is important.”