Shannon Fentiman MP
Since being elected to Parliament in 2015, I have overseen government departments including Women, Health, Domestic and Family Violence, Justice, Small Business and Training, and Child Safety. I also serve as Queensland’s Ministerial Champion of the Torres Strait (Zenadth Kes), who have welcomed me into their homes and their hearts, sharing an abundance of knowledge and stories.
And yet, in every one of these positions I have held, a single and devastating constant has been the entrenched structural disadvantage faced by First Nations peoples.
Addressing the ongoing impacts of colonisation on First Nation people, families, and communities is long overdue in this country.
That is why I will be voting YES in this year’s referendum on the Voice to Parliament.
This referendum offers Australians a once-in-a-generation opportunity to collectively, as a nation, chart a new course forward. A course that, by giving First Nations communities a seat at the table, will lift up the voices crying out for better health outcomes, better employment opportunities, and an end to domestic and family violence.
A course that takes the first steps towards improving the wellbeing of First Nations women and girls, which continues to be impacted by historical and current events, racism, and gender inequality.
For too long, politicians and bureaucrats have told First Nations people how we fix these issues.
At last, it is time for us to listen.
By listening, truth telling, and healing, we can finally begin to reconcile our past with our future.
I am voting YES so that we may journey forward together, hand in hand, determined to create a better country for the next generation of Australians.