Remarks to Referendum Working Group
Can I say thank you, for the third time I’ve been able to meet with this working group, and thank you for the extraordinary work that you are doing.
Importantly, thank you for your patience with the process.
I’m very hopeful and optimistic about an outcome later this year.
The Government is determined to hold a referendum in accordance with the wishes arising from the Uluru Statement from the Heart. And in spite of some of the misinformation, I congratulate you on your advocacy around the country.
I know that Marcia and Marcus were at a forum last night in Melbourne and there is momentum building around the country.
There are public meetings. I’ve had meetings with church organisations, with sporting organisations, with businesses, including in Western Australia yesterday, reaffirming that they are strongly supportive of a constitutionally enshrined Voice to our Parliament.
And we know that as we get down to the campaign end, there are two clear messages of what it’s about: recognition and consultation. Simple as that. Recognising First Nations people in our nation’s birth certificate, and then enshrining consultation about matters that impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples.
We know that that is the way to get better outcomes and to close the gap, which is there in too many areas.
So my government is very committed to this. We’ll continue to put everything into this campaign. And I know that, increasingly, this will be an opportunity to bring the nation together.
And one of the things that strikes me, that I say to people, is that when I was growing up, not too far from Redfern where there was a substantial urban Indigenous community, there was no such thing as an Acknowledgement or Welcome to Country. I never heard that. Never heard that.
And now whenever you go, when my local church, whether it’s a sporting event, whether it be any national event, it’s just a matter of course. Any child care centre, including the early learning centre downstairs here. It’s fantastic to hear quite often the youngest Australians learn some Indigenous language as well and to pay respects to the traditional owners.
Schools went back in the last week. Most schools in the country, public and private, will have had a smoking ceremony or an Acknowledgement or a Welcome to Country, something that acknowledges the fullness and richness of our history.
The opportunity that we have is to show respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but also to, I think, uplift non-Indigenous Australians, to give us a more confident sense of self and who we are as Australians, whether we are the newest arrivals who got their citizenship last week or whether it be Indigenous Australians.
And also, as well, the way that Australia is perceived in the region and in the world, whether we are a mature nation that can indicate that we don’t hide from the fullness of our history is, I think, a really important moment for the country.
I want to thank all of the Referendum Working Group for the hard work that you’re doing.
I know you’ll be hearing from the Leader of the Opposition later this afternoon. That’s a good thing. I’ve encouraged him and Julian Leeser to engage.
I want everyone possible to be a part of this journey towards reconciliation, this important next step. And my door has been open the whole way through.
I do note that since I put forward draft wording in the Constitution, very clear draft wording, in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia’s first peoples. And then the three points: one, there shall be a Voice; two, it shall be consulted on matters which affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and three, the Parliament shall determine the structure, et cetera.
No one yet in this Parliament, across the spectrum, has come up with an alternative word or sentence. But I’m up for it.
This is something that has come, as you know, from the bottom up. It has come from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – yourselves.
And that is why it’s so important that this is successful. And I assure you of my personal commitment as well as the Government’s commitment going forward.