Voice to Parliament
Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (10:12): Are you one of the 6.4 million voters who later this year will be voting in their first referendum? If you are like me and this year you face a new choice, let me help you out. Firstly, referendums are compulsory, a part of our democracy much like voting in the federal and state elections last year. But unlike last year, this time you are voting on a question, a question with two simple options: yes or no. Later this year you will walk into the ballot box and be faced with a question which is about two things: recognising First Nations people in the constitution and consulting with First Nations people about issues that affect them. Before you head in and vote, please consider this: your vote matters and your vote can help change the lives and futures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You are being asked if 65,000 years of history and the oldest living culture are worth recognising in our founding document. You are being asked if Aboriginal people deserve a say on the issues that affect them and their lives every day. You are being asked if governments can and should do better by First Australians. The date is official now. So on 14 October, as you consider that question, I hope you will join me in answering that question and in answering it with a ‘yes’.