Voice to Parliament
Nick STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (13:13): Last week I attended a forum at Brighton town hall on the Voice referendum, hosted by the federal member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel and an expert panel comprising the Honourable Fred Chaney AO, former federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Fraser government; Senator the honourable Pat Dodson; and Amy Rust from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. The packed hall had come together to listen to the experts, ask questions and hear about how the Voice will work and why it is so important. The forum covered a broad church of issues, but one message was abundantly clear: ‘nothing about us without us’. The Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia will give First Nations Australians a say on the issues that directly impact them. I am proud of the work that the Andrews Labor government has done in establishing the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, and the importance of a federal body cannot be understated.
Sadly, we know that for far too long policy has not considered the wants and needs of First Nations communities. The Voice referendum is a crucial step towards rectifying this injustice. The Voice provides a national platform for Indigenous people to be consulted on policy and legislation and share their perspectives, concerns and aspirations with policymakers and government of the day. Enshrining the Voice in the constitution ensures that this recognition and consultation will continue regardless of who occupies the Treasury benches. I also see this as an opportunity for the Liberal and National parties to join a campaign of healing, and we implore them to get on board. I thank Zoe Daniel for inviting me to the forum, and I commend my state and Commonwealth Labor colleagues for their strong support.