The Voice to Parliament is not a partisan political issue; it is a national matter that draws together a wide range of Australian society in support of the First Nations people of this continent and its surrounding islands.
In early 2023, Common Grace launched the national Listen to the Heart campaign, calling Christians to vote yes in the referendum for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Common Grace describes itself as “a movement of individuals, churches and communities pursuing Jesus and justice together for the flourishing of all people and all creation”. Its campaign, Listen to the Heart, is led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders, including Aunty Jean Phillips, Uncle Ray Minniecon, Uncle Vince Ross, Adam Gowan, Sabina Stewart, Bianca Manning, and Aunty Sue Hodges.
The campaign invites Christians across Australia to deeply listen to the calls of Indigenous peoples for justice, through Voice, together with Treaty and Truth-Telling, reflecting the three key commitments sought by the Statement from the Heart. See https://www.listentotheheart.org.au
The Voice to Parliament will be Voice structured to allow local, regional, state and territory voices to be heard through this National Voice.
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In 2015, the Social Justice Committee of The Hunter Presbytery made a submission to the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry into Constitutional Recognition in 2015. The three key elements in their submission still hold good some eight years later:
1. Australian people are ready for change; there is agreement the Constitution should be changed as soon as possible.
2. Practical Recognition is required, not just Symbolic Recognition. One way to implement practical recognition in the Constitution is through a Voice to Parliament.
3. The recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution is important and long overdue.
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For people in the Uniting Church, voting YES in the proposed referendum is a clear way to express our long-held and enduring commitment to our covenant relationship with First Peoples. Voting in this way to support the referendum would be one more step along a pathway that has been clear for many decades, that the UCA stands in solidarity with First Peoples in Australia. In 1980, at Noonkanbah in Western Australia, Uniting Church members stood in solidarity with the traditional owners, the Yungngora people, against the mining of their land.
The Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress was established in 1985, and a Covenant between the UAICC and the UCA was formalised in 1994. This Covenant recognises that working for reconciliation amongst people is central to the Gospel. In 2009, the Preamble to the UCA Constitution was revised to recognise the difficult history of relationships between the First Peoples and the later arrivals, as Second Peoples. Our present relationship is one which seeks to ensure that we commit to the destiny together which we share as Australians.
Supporting a vote for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is yet another step along that pathway of sharing a destiny together. It’s an expression of our central commitment to justice for First Peoples. It is an act that sits at the very heart of the Gospel.
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The Statement from the Heart is a consensus statement which was born out of extensive discussions across the nation and finalised at a Constitutional Convention at Uluru in May 2017. The Statement offers a way forward for Australia that is practical, not merely symbolic. It advocates for the three key elements: Treaty, Truth, and Voice.
Last year, a number of Australian religious leaders declared their support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which includes the request for just such a Voice to Parliament. There are Anglicans, Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Baptists, and others who support this, along with the Uniting Church.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Leaders, including Aunty Jean Phillips, Uncle Ray Minniecon, Uncle Vince Ross, Adam Gowan, Sabina Stewart, Bianca Manning, and Aunty Sue Hodges, are supporting the YES campaign for the Voice to Parliament.
A Joint Resolution of Australian religious leaders in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which includes the request for just such a Voice to Parliament, was signed in May 2022, on the fifth anniversary of the Statement from the Heart. Anglicans, Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Baptists, and others support this, along with the Uniting Church.
Last month, representatives of another batch of “religious” organisations have come out in support, as the peak bodies of many sporting organisations joined together to advocate a YES vote in the coming referendum: the AFL, NRL, Rugby Union, Cricket Australia, Baseball Australia, Deaf Sport Australia, Football Australia, Basketball, Taekwondo, Golf, and more.
All of which means, it makes sense for people of faith to Vote YES!!!
An Informed Faith 