Write YES for social justice

Write YES on the ballot paper in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum next month and vote for social justice.

Social justice includes the concept that all people possess an equal and inalienable worth. Because of this dignity, each person has a right to all that is needed to allow him or her to live their full potential.

Here’s the question:

‘Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

‘Do you approve this proposed alteration?‘

Here is what will happen if the majority of Australians write YES

Several statements will be added to our Constitution to ensure recognition of our First Nations people.

• For 122 years, the Australian Constitution has not acknowledged that there were people here before European settlement. The addition provides recognition in the way requested by First Nations peoples in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
• A body (the Voice) will be established. The Voice will consist of representatives of First Nations people across the country.
• The Voice has an advisory role only. It cannot make or block laws, manage programs or distribute funding. It can simply advise the executive government, including ministers and departments that make policies.
• The advice will involve only those policies, programs and laws which impact First Nations people.
• The details of how the Voice works will be determined by the Parliament and can be adapted as required.

How this change will affect Australians

If a majority of Australians in a majority of States write YES on their ballot paper on October 14, the results for First Nations people could be enormous and life-changing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders will have representation to Parliament for the first time. They will be listened to. Their input will be acknowledged although they will have no direct influence on outcomes.

At present there is a huge gap between the well-being of Aboriginal people and the wider community.

If the Yes vote succeeds, they will have a say, for the first time, into policies about their own health, welfare, housing, educational opportunities, employment, rates of incarceration and suicide, their children in out-of-home care… the list goes on.

The rest of us will hardly notice a difference. Our lives will not be impacted. A Yes vote will not divide the country. It will, in fact, create a better Australia with a more just society.

With input from those affected, the gap can be closed. The cost of the Voice will be considerably less than the current ongoing costs created by poverty and underprivilege experienced by many Indigenous people.

Write YES for social justice

As the Uluru Statement from the Heart says,

‘In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard.’