Supporting the Voice to Parliament
Australian Childhood Foundation supports the Voice to Parliament as the first step towards the critical establishment of a Makarrata Commission to lead to truth-telling and treaty making.
In a few short weeks, we will see the country vote in a referendum on the Voice to Parliament, a long overdue change, and one that we at the Foundation support.
The Foundation recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples formed the first sovereign nations in this country we now call Australia and acknowledge that their sovereignty was never ceded. We honour and respect that they have given voice for millennia to what is in the best interests of their peoples and that these voices have been silenced through processes of colonisation, discrimination and racist policy on behalf of successive governments.
Australian Childhood Foundation supports the need for meaningful change and believes that such change is long overdue. The ongoing over-representation of First Nations’ children and adults in our child protection and justice systems has not changed despite many inquiries, reviews and commitments over many years to address these issues. We cannot claim to be ignorant of the truth of the past and the current experience of First Nations peoples. They have told their stories time and time again in the hope that accounts of their own lived experience and those of their ancestors will prompt us to act to address these injustices and give full effect to the principle of self-determination.
At the heart of the debate about the Voice to Parliament is the question of the best way to achieve meaningful change, to avoid tokenism and promote unity. We respect the diversity of views in this debate. We acknowledge that complex issues are rarely, if ever, solved by simple solutions.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for truth and treaty in addition to voice.
The Australian Childhood Foundation supports the Voice to Parliament as the first step towards the critical establishment of a Makarrata Commission to lead to truth-telling and treaty-making.
Dr Joe Tucci
CEO, Australian Childhood Foundation
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