The Northern Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS), with full support of the NTCOSS Board, proudly supports constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through a Voice to Parliament.
The Voice to Parliament is one of the three pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, along with a Makarrata Commission, which is the coming together after a struggle, to oversee Truth-Telling and Treaty processes. The Uluru Statement of the Heart was ratified at Uluru in 2017 after an extensive process of consultation across Australia.
The Voice to Parliament will be a representative body that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to advise Parliament on legislation, policies and projects that affect their lives. Enshrining the Voice in the Constitution ensures a constitutionally protected mechanism that governments cannot abolish based on the politics of the day, which have historically impacted on solutions and progress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs.
Here in the Northern Territory (NT), where we have the largest per capita Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Australia, the importance of the Voice to Parliament is clear. More than 30 per cent of people in the NT are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and this population has a median age of just 26. This young population wants a say in the laws and policies that will impact them and for the government to support their active participation in these processes.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have long been excluded from decision-making spaces. This has been done both deliberately and unconsciously because of systemic racism. Without the ability to have a say in decisions that impact their communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been disproportionately negatively impacted by policies and laws.
NTCOSS is acutely aware of the ongoing effects of racist and paternalistic, contemporary, and historical policies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: colonisation, the forced removal of children from families, systemic racism, and the failed NT Intervention, which undermined any principles of agency or self-determination. NTCOSS also recognises the great strength repeatedly demonstrated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership in the face of such adversity.
The proposed principles for the Voice offer an opportunity for local decision making to be communicated to the highest levels of decision making. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Territorians are disproportionately impacted by high levels of poverty, and inequity in housing, education, health, and justice. The Voice offers an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to directly advise Parliament on measures, including increased investment, that is desperately needed across programs and services that will make a difference in people’s lives.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart called for a Voice, followed by Treaty and Truth-Telling, and as allies, we support this sequencing. NTCOSS respects that there are different positions on this process, but, with the backing of our Board, we believe we cannot miss this opportunity to correct a wrong in Australia’s history.
NTCOSS believes this provides Australians and Territorians with an historic, nation-changing opportunity to recognise the distinct status and special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have been in Australia for thousands of years.
NTCOSS will be supporting the Voice campaign in the lead up to the referendum, and will be sharing tools and resources for those looking to become more engaged in this process. We encourage all our members and stakeholders to participate in supporting the YES campaign for a Voice to Parliament, before Australians vote in this once in a lifetime opportunity to make our constitution better