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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
Gabriel Fowler

'We will come together, we will rise up'

IN the wake the Voice referendum, young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have organised a nationwide show of support for "justice".

A series of events are being held around the country tomorrow, including at Newcastle's Civic Park at 5pm, as part of a 'National Day of Solidarity for First Nations Justice'.

Shantell Bailey, a co-organiser of the Newcastle event, said the conversation wasn't going to go away.

"After the referendum there was a call for a national week of silence which has now come to an end and we are now hoping to create a visual show of support for those people trying to think about what the next steps are," Miss Bailey said.

It follows a meeting last week of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are moving to shift the focus away from the 'no' vote, she said.

Ashley Gordon says the government and the opposition must be held to account on addressing Indigenous disadvantage. Picture by Peter Lorimer

"Across the country, First Nations communities are hurting, but in the face of ongoing injustice, we will not be silent," social media posts advertising the event say.

"We will come together, we will rise up and we will carry on the legacy of our old people and fight for treaties, truth-telling and justice for our mob.

"From Gadigal to Noongar country and beyond, the fight continues and we are calling on allies to stand with us and keep showing up. We are still here continue to fight for truth-telling, treaties and justice."

Newcastle Knights legend Ashley Gordon said he was very interested post-referendum to see where both major political parties and the Australian population would take the issue next.

"Are we just going to go back to normal? Are we to go back in our box and just wait and see what happens in the future?" he said.

"It's a little bit cloudy. What do the 'no' voters want? Not to have an advisory group, OK, big deal.

"But surely we want to acknowledge and have some kind of recognition. Recognition in the constitution would be lovely.

"I'm skeptical of both parties and where are we going to go. We need the Australian public on our side to walk with us if we are going to walk forward and be unified.

"Our political parties have caused chaos, they have confused the Australian public, we saw that.

"But I still think the Australian public want an opportunity to unify our country moving forward, what that looks like I don't know."

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The outcome of the national referendum held on October 14 was 40 per cent 'yes', with the 'no' campaign securing victory in all six states.

In the Hunter, Newcastle was the only federal electorate to record a 'yes' majority vote while the rest of the region resoundingly rejected recognising First Nations people in the constitution with an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

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