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<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">Dear international
colleagues</span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">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. </span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">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.</span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>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.</span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">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: </span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU"><a
href="https://ulurustatement.org/">ulurustatement.org</a>
,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><a
href="https://yes23.com.au/">Yes23.com.au</a>
,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><a
href="https://voicefromtheheartalliance.com/">voicefromtheheartalliance.com</a><span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Robyn and Richard
co-founded this group)</span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="font-family:Arial" lang="EN-AU">Best wishes in solidarity
for a livable and just
planet everywhere</span></p>
<p><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New
Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-AU">Richard
and Maria</span></p>
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<p class="Default" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font
size="6"><b><span style="font-size:11.5pt">Yes to the Uluru
Statement from the Heart and the
Referendum</span></b></font></p>
<font size="6">
</font>
<p class="Default" style="text-align:center" align="center"><font
size="6"><b><span style="font-size:11.5pt">Institute of
Cultural Affairs Australasia</span></b></font><span
style="font-size:11.5pt"></span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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.
</span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="Default"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">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. </span></p>
<p class="PageText" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><span
style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt" lang="EN-AU">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.</span></p>
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style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
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