[Oe List ...] ICA Australasia Statement of Support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament

[Richard and Maria Maguire]

Dear international colleagues

We’d like to share a document with you (see below) that the Board of ICA 
Australasia created recently following an AGM decision. It joins efforts 
of other organisations to publicly stand up for a Voice to Parliament 
for Indigenous (Aboriginal) people in Australia and a Referendum later 
this year. Every citizen here will be privileged and obliged to vote on 
whether or not they want Aboriginal people to have a Voice to the 
federal Parliament and Government. It is expected that once the right of 
Indigenous people to be heard is constitutionally enshrined, they can be 
heard and involved in designing and implementing the programs that 
affect them. As also indicated by the analysis of past programs’ success 
or failure, this will achieve much better results to close the still 
huge gap between Aboriginal and Non-Indigenous people in Australia 
regarding life expectancy, housing, education, health, employment etc.

The Referendum is seen as the essential first and significant step of 
implementing the “Uluru Statement from the Heart” of May 2017 on “Voice, 
Treaty and Truth” that you might have heard about and can get the text 
through google. There is still much to be done regarding facing the full 
history and overcoming racism and systemic violence in Australia and ICA 
is glad for this new development in the right direction. As you might 
have experienced, ICA’s normally do not make public statements like 
this, but the Members felt compelled to do so in this case. It also 
decided to share it with some of our international colleagues, since the 
history of colonialism is still present in many places around our world 
and needs wisdom and courage to address it from all sides and many of 
you have actually had assignments in Australia.

ICA in Australia has stood up for justice and rights of Indigenous 
people since its beginnings here in 1967-68 and worked on it in many 
places and through various efforts and activities. Members have 
continued to be involved in their various ways, in training, consulting, 
advocacy and research as well as active community engagement for 
reconciliation, justice and recently the Uluru campaigns.In the face of 
some distractions and backlash we now encourage our members to share the 
ICA statement widely and get personally involved to support a historical 
opportunity to seriously change the dial and move towards a new future 
for all, with a variety of practical actions. Many of us are deeply 
moved by the sophistication, passion and heartfelt attention Aboriginal 
people have put into the Uluru Statement from the Heart and then 
developing fair, practical and legally sound suggestions for its 
implementation. Their commitment keeps us going when we get disturbed by 
outdated efforts of No campaigns, aiming to block a long overdue change 
towards Voice, Treaty and Truth.

We hope that you can find some encouragement in the Uluru Statement and 
our ICA Statement of support for your own work and location in whatever 
ways you might be confronted with such issues and interested in having 
an impact for a more just society. In case you’d like to find out more 
about background and current work on this these links might be useful:

ulurustatement.org <https://ulurustatement.org/> ,Yes23.com.au 
<https://yes23.com.au/> ,voicefromtheheartalliance.com 
<https://voicefromtheheartalliance.com/>(Robyn and Richard co-founded 
this group)

Best wishes in solidarity for a livable and just planet everywhere

Richard and Maria

*Yes to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Referendum*

*Institute of Cultural Affairs Australasia*

The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) wholeheartedly adds its voice of 
support to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a constitutionally 
enshrined Voice to Parliament.

Our members strongly believe it is high time that Indigenous people are 
heard concerning the policies and programs directly affecting their 
lives and communities. For too long programs to bridge the gap have 
failed because Indigenous people were not fully involved in deciding, 
designing, and carrying them out. This caused unnecessary ongoing pain 
and disempowerment for people that have already suffered beyond measure 
for more than two centuries. It also blocked access to their knowledge 
for surviving and thriving on this continent that all others can learn 
from at this time of breakdown and renewal.

When the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), started its activities in 
Australia in 1967-68 we publicly - radically at the time - stated that 
justice for Indigenous people was the underlying issue for Australia to 
resolve. For many years our members have worked on the ground with 
Aboriginal communities to catalyse their vision and action for their 
future. The ICA has remained a strong advocate for the full 
participation of Indigenous Australians and their struggle for justice. 
We believe it is now time for us to publicly record our support of the 
‘Yes’ campaign for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.

We experience the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a trustworthy 
breakthrough after decades of small improvements, along with stagnation 
and failures. After lengthy debates, the First Nations people gathered 
at Uluru to create it and offered it as a gift to the people of 
Australia, asking us to walk with them into the future.

Following the12 Regional Dialogues the locally chosen representatives at 
Uluru declared that the Voice is the constitutional recognition they 
want, followed by Treaties and Truth telling, overseen by a Makarrata 
Commission. The Voice provides a way to directly communicate with 
Parliament and the Executive about what works best for Aboriginal 
communities. It is legally solid, also practical and fair, which is such 
an important value for Australians.

It is encouraging that most Aboriginal people and organisations have 
said Yes to the Voice. This stance has overwhelming support from 
corporations, unions, NGO’s and many levels of government along with 
countless citizens, including those who have arrived more recently and 
want to learn about and respect the original inhabitants of their new 
country.

A yes to the Uluru Statement and to the Voice to Parliament is a unique 
opportunity for an historical leap forward for the nation. It will 
enable further important steps to follow. Our members are committed to 
supporting a Yes and our colleagues from across the world will be glad 
that we along with many others in Australia set an example in the right 
direction.

Let us celebrate that “we the people” are invited to have our conscience 
and purpose guide us when we are alone in the ballot box to record our 
vote in the Referendum: Do we want Indigenous people of this nation to 
have a Voice or not? Beyond all the chatter and fabricated confusion, it 
finally is that simple, yet also an awesome responsibility. Our Yes or 
No will co-decide the future for all of us and reshape our identity as 
Australians. The pain of a No would be unimaginable.
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