Reid hosts Voice information session at Hardys Bay

Federal Member for Robertson Gordon Reid held a Voice to Parliament information session on Friday, June 30, at Hardys Bay Club.

The small club was packed out to hear Reid’s reasoning for promoting the Yes campaign.

Reid, who has Aboriginal heritage himself, initiated the discussions by explaining the historical background for the coming referendum.

He first referred to numerous historical initiatives to acknowledge Indigenous Australians.

He emphasised the 1967

Australian referendum where Australians voted to change the constitution so that, like all other Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population for constitutional purposes.

He went on to list the numerous acknowledgments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including the Native Title Act of 1993 and the 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017 was what Reid called the largest consensus of First Nations peoples on a proposal for substantive recognition in Australian history.

Local businesswoman Jody Deemer said the most significant takeaway from Reid’s information session was the clarity he brought to the referendum debate.

“Dr Reid was clear that the constitutional change proposed in the referendum is a vote for a body of principles as outlined in the constitution,” she said.

“He clearly explained the procedural functions and legal responsibilities of the government after any constitutional change.”