Dr Nora Amath
On election night last year, I cried tears of joy when I heard Minister Penny Wong utter the words, “we can take that step forward to fulfilling the promise of the Uluru Statement from the Heart” and when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also committed to this promise, to a referendum that enshrines constitutional recognition for First Nations people and provides a formal platform to engage with and hear matters that affect and impact on their communities and the nation as a whole.
At the onset, I was going to vote YES, because the Voice represents empowerment, hope and the much-needed healing that we need as a nation. But I needed to also hear from the No Voters, especially from those with legitimate concerns; along the way, I questioned whether I was making the right choice, as a non-Indigenous migrant to this country.
For months, I read, spoke to and heard from both sides. Like many of us, I wanted to do the right thing by my Indigenous brothers and sisters because this vote is so important.
At the end of June, I went to Darwin for the World Community Development Conference. There were nearly 100 First Nations delegates in attendance, and I took this opportunity to sit with many of them, to hear from them what the Voice means for them, individually and collectively.
I asked how they wanted me to vote - emphatically, they wanted me to vote yes. The First Nations sisters, in particular, explained to me that while it does address some of the historical trauma and continued marginalisation, the Voice is not really for them or for us now in the present; rather, it is for their children, our children. Our future.
It is for the future we want as Australians, a future where every person, regardless of their skin colour or their ethnicity, has a fair chance to contribute and succeed.
I am accepting the invitation from my First Nations brothers and sisters to vote YES to the Voice, to come together and continue to clamour for reconciliation, truth-telling and treaty.