Patrick Dodson: Indigenous Voice vote a rite of passage

We are a nation that is at once ancient and adolescent. A nation made unique by age-old cultures and yet a nation still growing into itself, still maturing.

The upcoming referendum for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice is our next great rite of passage. It will mark an important stage in the life of the nation, the transition from exclusion to inclusion, but also a respectful co-existence and celebration of the coming together of Australian peoples old and new.

The upcoming referendum heralds the long overdue recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian narrative to date. Every Australian — every West Australian — has a role in this rare and precious moment, to vote for the future we see for ourselves, our families and our nation.

Starting from Broome, I have walked the long and winding road of reconciliation for 50 years. I have come to understand the Voice as perhaps our greatest chance at true reconciliation.

We must not forget that the proposal for a constitutionally-enshrined Voice was called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It did not have its genesis in Canberra as some have suggested. To the contrary, it emerged from an extensive national engagement among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including here in WA.

The cultural legitimacy of this process is supported by the latest polls which show 83 per cent of First Nations people would vote Yes, were the referendum held today. This overwhelming support illustrates that our communities are crying out for change. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, urban regional and remote, in WA and beyond, want not only to be more involved in the public life of the nation, but also to celebrate more of their unique culture, values and beliefs.

There are some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who remain unsure or undecided. That’s understandable and acknowledged. Our communities and families have long been subject to policy failure, institutional maltreatment, and racism. There is value in political scepticism, but it is clear to me that the Voice is the next logical step in the history of our struggle for justice.

Those who know what life was like under the rule of A.O Neville, WA’s Chief Protector of Aborigines from 1915 and the Native Protectors who followed him, almost till the 1967 referendum, will understand the long-overdue need for a Voice to be enshrined in our Constitution. My parents needed the protector’s permission to marry, as did many others in this State.

My hope is to see a strong, successful Yes vote from the people of this great State of WA.

The referendum to enshrine a Voice recognises the enduring uniqueness of our communities and cultures. It will enhance our Constitution by virtue of its recognition of First Peoples. It will not detract from our unceded sovereignty nor diminish us as First Peoples. The amendment is about the First Peoples of this country; it is not about race.

More than that, the referendum is about mutual respect and acknowledgement of our need to be heard by officials who have been deciding what is good, or not good, for our people.

I appeal to you to take a constructive approach and respond positively to the question to be put at the referendum. A Yes vote will pick up the torch of our great leaders from the past who have led the fight against governments and bureaucracies.

I struggle to think of another reform that has been subject to as much public scrutiny, process, and participation. Prime minister Howard put recognition on the table in 2007 and now, 16 years later, we finally have before the Parliament a Constitutional Alteration Bill for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Legal experts, including former Chief Justice Robert French, one of WA’s leading legal minds, overwhelmingly support the provision for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice as a sound and sensible amendment to be made to our Constitution. When the cross-parliamentary committee examining the Constitution Alteration Bill held its hearings in Perth on April 28, Aboriginal organisations, including the Kimberley Land Council, along with respected West Australians like Ken Wyatt, Fred Chaney and Professor Fiona Stanley, turned out publicly to declare their support.

This should reassure West Australians that we are on the right track. There has been much negotiation, questioning and compromise in getting to where we are. Having participated in much of that process, I am confident that this has been done with the best interests of the nation at the forefront of our deliberations.

We are challenged to rise to this unique occasion, to apply our critical judgement and step bravely into the next chapter of our history. My hope is to see a strong, successful Yes vote from the people of this great State of WA.

Patrick Dodson is a Yawuru man, Labor Senator for WA and Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluṟu Statement.