Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for her supplementary. There are now more First Nations parliamentarians—including the good senator—than ever before, and that does make an enormous difference. But elections mean parliamentarians come and go. The voice will exist and endure outside of the ups and downs of election cycles.

Let's recall that the Statement from the Heart is the outcome of the most significant consultation process of First Nations Peoples Australia has ever seen. It builds on the work of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians and the 16-member Referendum Council. There had been many years of consultation by the time the council travelled to 12 different locations around Australia and met with over 1,200 Indigenous representatives. Whilst I respect that there are differences of views, including in this place, I do urge senators to recognise and respect the years of concerted effort that have got us this far. (Time expired)