The spectacle of tens of thousands of Australians walking together in support of the voice last weekend was a powerful reminder of what the yes campaign for a First Nations voice is all about.
Yes is for unity and hope, it is for the energy that springs from a shared commitment to building a better future.
Looking out at the crowd gathered in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga in Adelaide, where I had the honour to speak, I felt my ancestors with me.
I descend from one whose name translates literally to “big heart” and, witnessing the spectacle of thousands of South Australians determined to help make things right in this country, my own heart felt fit to burst.
It has been a long journey. The most recent phase began nearly six and a half years ago at Uluru, when about 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people issued a remarkable set of words: the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
After 12 regional dialogues, representing the largest consultation process ever of First Nations people, the National Convention delegates did not want to address our proposal to politicians. Too many of us have experienced the disappointment of sharing our time, our insights and energy in government consultations, only to see the latest report or heartfelt request for recognition – think the 1998 Barunga Statement – sit ignored in Canberra.
This time we were determined to speak directly to the Australian people. We signed our names to a canvas with the words of the Uluru Statement, an expression of love captured in 439 dignified and open-hearted words, from the daughters and sons of the oldest surviving societies and cultures on the planet.
The Uluru Statement expresses our determination to end the status quo, one in which we experience catastrophic outcomes in every realm compared with non-Indigenous Australians.
These outcomes are indisputable. The ongoing impacts of colonisation, the intergenerational trauma it has caused, is undeniable.
The Uluru Statement contains no bluster; it lays bare loving but aching hearts. It lights a torch for meaningful structural reform based not upon race but on our inherent First Nations rights.
At its heart, we propose meaningful things that would make a difference in our lives and those of our children. Not just for an election cycle but for always – because why should there be an expiry or “best before” date on dignity for First Nations people?
The quest to change the nation’s “founding document” – the constitution – is no ordinary event. It is extraordinary. We – Aussies – can be extraordinary too.
We have seen much shrill and shameful discussion about the voice. Facts have become casualties, furphies have spread like wildfire. Disingenuous people have peddled the grimmest of scenarios.
But just as sunlight is a powerful disinfectant to stains, so too are courage and conviction the best antidote to fear and apathy.
It has been said throughout history that we shall be judged not by how we treat the powerful, but the vulnerable people, those who need a hand. But that is not the sum of our people. Let no one take our relative disadvantage as weakness. We have survived unimaginable things; now we are determined to thrive, with the help of all Australians voting yes.
A successful referendum will give our people the dignity of being heard on the things we know from lived experience will work in our communities. We know best how to fix the deeply entrenched problems that governments of all political persuasions have failed to remedy or – even worse– have created.
Our people will not abandon hope despite the hurdles; in the same way our diggers showed up for Australia during wartime, only to be abandoned upon their return; the same way our people have always nurtured and cared for country, even as it is degraded; and the same way that our storytellers speak truth even if their voices shake.
As the Uluru Statement says, “When we have power over our destiny, our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.”
I know there are some people who may never be ready for or disposed to the Uluru Statement, including a First Nations voice. But I still hope they’ll eventually listen with open hearts and minds, the very way we want the parliament and executive government to listen to the voice. They will suffer no harm if our people have a voice; indeed, we flourish when we come together.
A resounding YES vote on 14 October will say something better, about all of us. I believe it will mean we can meet each other’s eyes and not flinch. We will see each other for what we’ve become in unity.
We are the First Australians. Maybe a tiny minority in our own lands but majestic in country and culture, and mighty, knowing there are many good women and men standing in alliance with us, as there were in 1967 and in the walks around the country.
Our ancestors are watching. History is calling.
Kirstie Parker is a Yuwallarai woman from north-western NSW, a signatory of the Uluru Statement From the Heart, and strategic adviser to the Uluru Dialogue
