Calling it a big day, Federal MP for Barton and former State MP for Canterbury, Linda Burney, has described it as the final hurdle to constitutional recognition.
“It’s on,” she said.
“We are one step closer to finally recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our nation’s founding document.
“One step closer to unifying Australia and making a great country even greater.”
She said the political debate had now ended and it was time to start a national conversation at the community level about what a Voice was, why it was needed and how it would make a practical difference.
“To those Australians who want to know more, I say this – the idea of constitutional recognition through a Voice began with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” she said.
“The Uluru Statement from the Heart [a 2017 petition by Indigenous leaders to change the constitution to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians] is a generous invitation to all Australians to walk a path to a better future.
“Our democracy and decision-making will be enhanced by the Voice because listening to a range of opinions is essential for good policy.
“It will be representative, community-led, accountable and transparent.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Voice would be a moment of national unity.
“This change isn’t about detracting from the 122 years of our democracy,” he said.
“This has been the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and patient hard work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lift our great nation even higher … in the regions and beyond, in the remotest corners of our vast and beautiful continent that we share with the oldest continuous culture on earth.
“It’s a chance to walk together as one to a better future.”
