"We continue to call on all governments to progress the objectives of the Uluru Statement from the Heart by advancing Voice, Treaty and Truth mechanisms in all jurisdictions"

In marking this day, calls to work harder for justice, anti-racism and truth-telling

Melissa Sweet
Close the Gap campaign, Lowitja Institute and others
Monday, October 14, 2024

Racism, Indigenous health, The Voice, Lowitja Institute, Misinformation and disinformation

Below is a compilation of statements marking the one-year anniversary of the referendum for a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, including from Close the Gap Campaign, Lowitja Institute, Reconciliation Australia and others.

Also included are links to recommended reading. (This post will be updated).

A year on, it is with hope that our journey for a just Australia continues

Statement by Close the Gap Campaign Co-Chairs
Karl Briscoe, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP)
Katie Kiss – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner – Australian Human Rights Commission

A year on from the Voice referendum, not much has changed, and while some might take comfort in the predictability of the perpetual status quo, “there are a real and dire consequences for the painfully slow progress”, says Karl Briscoe.

The lead up to the referendum exposed a deep chasm between the ongoing injustices that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience, and how non-Indigenous Australians understand the consequences and impacts of such injustices.

Data highlights that post-referendum, Aboriginal and The Torres Strait Islander peoples report a marked increase in their experiences of racism and a significant decrease in their overall social and emotional wellbeing.

A key component of the Voice was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ need for self-determination. The right to have a Voice, at the highest levels of government to advocate for the issues that affect our communities. These are changes that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been calling for, for generations.

Yet, when the moment was upon our nation, to spur action into meaningful change, we fell short.

We felt the tide change as discourse in the lead up to the referendum went on – we heard the harmful rhetoric and felt the pain that age-old tropes and fearmongering sowed in communities nationwide.

In spite of this, we were hopeful in the lead up to the vote and remain so. In the aftermath of the disappointing outcome of the Referendum, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders have spoken honestly of the need to persevere, to strengthen our resolve and continue our work in the face of adversity.

As Karl Briscoe highlights, “we have a responsibility to seek justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Firstly, because social justice is foundational to lasting change, but also, because we feel a deep and inherent responsibility to build a fairer, more just Australia for future generations”.

“And while there was certainly much to learn from the referendum,” says Commissioner Katie Kiss, “our primary goal has not changed. Truth, healing and justice, these concepts are the pillars of the Uluru Statement, and we remain committed to them because they are the foundation upon which, the vision of a reconciled Australia, must be built.”

Resistance to change, or an inability to understand the nuances of how structures need to change, is preventing meaningful progress.

As this Campaign has highlighted time and again, the inability to drive systems change at the departmental and agency level, is not a theoretical issue that has no consequences. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is the difference between a life of health and dignity, or one of poorer health and social and emotional distress.

The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is the most comprehensive policy initiative with the potential to address the entrenched inequalities that too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience. If governments are serious about closing the gap, then they need to hold their respective agencies to account for failing to implement the priority reforms and meet the agreed targets.

In the absence of a mechanism such as The Voice, it is critical that governments do the work of systems change to ensure that they uphold their commitment to fully implement the National Agreement.

We know what must be done to ensure the protection and survival of the oldest continuous living culture in the world. The referendum may not have passed but that will not stop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from using their voices to call for change.

One year on: Governments must prioritise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community voices in health

Statement by Lowitja Institute CEO Paul Stewart

Lowitja Institute calls on all governments to privilege community voices as we mark the one-year anniversary since the referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Australian Constitution.

CEO Paul Stewart commends the support of 6.2 million Australians that voted Yes to a representative Voice to the Australian Parliament and Executive Government. And acknowledges the hard work and commitment from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations in supporting the Yes campaign.

“While last year’s referendum result was not the outcome we were hoping for, I am proud of Lowitja Institute’s work to support the Yes campaign,” Mr Stewart said.

“We continue to call on all governments to progress the objectives of the Uluru Statement from the Heart by advancing Voice, Treaty and Truth mechanisms in all jurisdictions and privilege Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in policy decision-making at all levels.

“Our patrons, the late Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue AC CBE DSG and Ms Pat Anderson AO dedicated many years to advocating for greater recognition of our peoples.

“Ms Anderson worked tirelessly alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to establish the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and we continue to walk beside her to ensure justice, equality and self-determination for our First Peoples in Australia.”

In March 2024, Lowitja Institute published the Close the Gap Campaign Report 2024 – Voyage to Voice, Treaty, Truth and Beyond on behalf of the Close the Gap Campaign, delivering a set of recommendations towards achieving the National Agreement on Closing the Gap’s goals.

Key among these is a call to implement the four Priority Reforms in all jurisdictions, which would include addressing recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s 2024 Closing the Gap review.

“One year on after the referendum, the Close the Gap targets still continue to tell a bleak story for our peoples’ health and wellbeing.

“Supporting the great work of community controlled organisations with Aboriginal-led research is crucial for us to genuinely close the gap in outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“We call on all Australians to commit to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart through shared understanding and truth-telling, so Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can lead healthy, happy lives now, and into the future.”

Statement by Reconciliation Australia

A year ago the Australian electorate rejected an opportunity to advance reconciliation and reset relationships between the Australian state and First Nations peoples.

Despite the efforts of the largest volunteer army ever assembled in Australia, on 14 October 2023 the Voice to Parliament referendum failed, causing disappointment and hurt in the hearts of First Nations people and their allies across the continent.

Throughout the campaign, Reconciliation Australia consistently reminded supporters that regardless of the result, our work towards reconciliation and justice would continue.

After all, First Nations people having a say in their own affairs has been central to reconciliation since the beginning of the formal reconciliation process more than 30 years ago.

The referendum result shone a very bright light on the harsh truth that Australia has a long way to go on its reconciliation journey. This was starkly illustrated in the ignorance and racism that characterised a large amount of the public discourse during that time.

Still Yes

But it is also true that, despite a huge misinformation campaign, six million Australians voted ‘Yes’.

60,000 people volunteered their time and support to the campaign and many First Nations communities voted in favour of the Voice to Parliament.

Unprecedented numbers of organisations, schools, community groups and sports teams also pledged their support.

Support for First Nations justice and self-determination continues after the referendum. In May 2024 international polling company Ipsos found that 78 percent of Australians still believe First Nations people should have a say in the laws and political decisions that affect them.

We are encouraged by increasing participation in our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education programs. There are currently over 3,300 active RAP partners, and over 2,000 schools and early learning services have joined us in actively promoting reconciliation in education.

We are encouraged by the way Australians embraced the 2024 National Reconciliation Week theme, Now More Than Ever, stressing the vital importance of staying engaged, connected, and committed to reconciliation; and by the more than 500 choirs across Australia who joined us in singing the Warumpi Band classic Blackfella/Whitefella.

We are heartened by the innovation, ingenuity and sheer determination of the applicants to our Indigenous Governance Awards 2024; organisations who exercise their self-determination to successfully build better lives for their families and communities.

Like these groundbreaking organisations our work did not stop after the referendum; like them, we have been getting on with the job.

Rather than slowing the historical trend towards reconciliation, the referendum defeat demanded that those who advocate for reconciliation and First Nations self-determination must work harder for justice, anti-racism and truth-telling.

We acknowledge our collective power to support, engage and invest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and continue to centre First Nations aspirations and self-determination.

We will remain active in supporting and promoting truth-telling to ensure Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and the impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and that Australia makes amends for past policies and practices and ensures these wrongs are never repeated.

In short, the referendum loss has not discouraged us but strengthened our will to work harder and better for a just, equitable, and reconciled nation now and for future generations.

To do less would be to dishonour the ancestors of First Nations people and non-Indigenous allies who with enormous courage started and led our struggle for reconciliation and justice over decades.