It’s time to speak up

Recognising the First Peoples of Australia by the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice is something that the Uniting Church is proud to support.

I’ve been following the conversation closely since the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in 2017, and I deeply respect and appreciate my colleagues and friends in the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, in their walking together with the Uniting Church.

I’m very glad to support the YES campaign, and to encourage individuals, congregations and institutions of the Church to take this opportunity to respond to the expressed hopes of First Peoples and deepen our walking together.

God created and sustained this land and the First Peoples long before colonisation.

Dispossession, violence and injustice caused massive damage to First Nations people, their knowledge and their relationships, diminishing the integrity of the gospel proclaimed by the churches.

I am glad that thanks to the work of visionaries like Charles Harris, the UAICC invited the Uniting Church into a covenantal relationship in which “we may all see a destiny together, praying and working together for a fuller expression of our reconciliation in Jesus Christ”.

In 2021, the UAICC Interim National Chairperson, along with the Uniting Church Assembly President, urged the Federal Government to adopt the proposal for a constitutionally enshrined national Voice, recognising that such a Voice would be fed by local and regional representation, and being clear that a voice which was not given recognition in the Constitution would miss the primary appeal of the Statement from the Heart.

The Statement from the Heart came out of a thorough process of First Peoples-led dialogue, culminating in the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru.

It clearly calls for a constitutionally enshrined Voice, as well as a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

I’m glad that around the Church there have been many opportunities to unpack this rich and moving statement.

Having heard from the UAICC and the Statement from the Heart, the Uniting Church’s Assembly Standing Committee has strongly affirmed the Church’s support for the Voice, as a step towards Voice, truth-telling and treaty.

The referendum is a profound opportunity for all Australians to respond to the invitation from Uluru.

It is a means for First Peoples to be recognised and heard on matters that have direct effect, in a way that national consultation among First Peoples’ has requested, allowing for details of structure and process to be overseen by the Parliament.

I’ve been encouraged at both ecumenical and interfaith forums to consistently find strong support for the Voice.

Along with colleagues and friends from the UAICC, I am keen to urge strong and clear support for the Voice. I encourage respectful conversations around all aspects of addressing injustice for First Nations people, and I pray that through this we will respond to our high calling in Christ to be instruments of reconciliation and peace: Following Christ, walking together as First and Second Peoples seeking community, compassion and justice for all creation.