HealthServe Australia Voice statement
Australia is a nation of generous people of good heart.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people together with people from many lands together accept the challenges of building the nation of Australia.
As an Australian Christian Health and Development agency, HealthServe Australia acknowledges that we all share a common creator. We also recognise we share the image of that Creator. Hence our response to all is one of wonder, respect, empathy and a recognition in times of vulnerability that we must protect.
Hence we respond to all taking a position on the Voice in wonder, respect and empathy. We recognise the need to protect all who feel vulnerable in these times of change.
We recognise a wide range of views of people of good heart, yet all are solidly supportive of improving the health and welfare of Australian and Torres Strait Islander people.
We hear the words of the 2017 Uluru statement.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders invite all to walk in a movement of the Australian people for a better future. The past has many documented histories of disrespect, dispossession and death. The present sees our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders walking generously but deeply troubled by a traumatic past. This is captured in witnessed stories of poor health, reduced education, less access to jobs and over-representation in our prison system.
We read our history, we read our constitution, and we see new a greater vision ahead for Australia.
We look to our neighbours in New Zealand. The establishment of Māori electorates came about in 1867 and continues to this day. Currently, five Maori are elected to dedicated seats. Singapore’s constitution outlines that the government must care for the interests of racial and religious minorities, acknowledging the “special position” of the indigenous Malay people. In Scandinavia, there are representative bodies for peoples of Sámi heritage in Finland, Sweden and Norway, In the USA, treaties were negotiated with some hundreds of Native American tribes, and tribal sovereignty is recognised in the US Constitution.
A nation moves forward best with a common understanding of our past, our current challenges and a shared vision of our future.
An amendment to a constitution does not contain details of implementation. This is standard practice. The implementation details are to be determined by each parliament.
The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewpoint is poorly resourced. Industry of course has many groups established to engage with our parliament such as health, education, mining, arts bodies, hotel associations, gambling industries, primary industry bodies and many more. Statutory advisory structures are established by legislation to provide advice to the government. They may assist with policy development, regulation, assurance activities or promote international relations.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience a torment of powerlessness in our land.
We seek constitutional reforms to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take a rightful place in determining our Australian story. The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewpoint needs strengthening to gain a foothold in the important national debates of the present and future.
We urge all Australians to respond with generosity and wisdom in voting YES to
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
We welcome this invitation to walk together in a movement of the Australian people for a better future. May God bless Australia.
-- The HealthServe Australia Board
