Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to share the success of the National Week of Action for the Voice. This historic week was held from 18 to 24 February. Across the country Australians from all walks of life came together in town halls, parks and workplaces to show their support for the Voice. Australians took time out from their busy schedules and their busy lives to learn about the Voice, to ask questions and to discuss their roles in the upcoming referendum. This is because the communities are ready for change. The Week of Action gave me a great amount of faith in the Australian people and their generosity and good will. There is much room in their hearts for this proposal.

Ultimately, the Australian people themselves will determine this referendum, not politicians. Leaders of the Uluru statement knew this. They did not equivocate in their message to the Australian people. The Voice referendum is an invitation, an opportunity for the Australian people to walk with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is a great country, and, after the week of action, I believe that the majority of Australians will accept this generous offer.

But change must start at home, within our own backyards. For me, the backyard happens to be the big state of Western Australia. The vastness and diversity of the state is not lost on me. As a Western Australian senator and special envoy, I'm committed to engaging with people from all corners of this country—urban, regional, and remote. I believe we need to reach out to all parts of our country in this referendum, and so I spent the Week of Action travelling down the remote west coast of Western Australia, talking to communities about the Voice and answering questions. I started at my traditional country home of Broome, alongside the Kimberley Land Council CEO and engagement group member, Mr Tyronne Garstone. We spoke to a packed hall at the Notre Dame campus at Broome.

The next day the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Deputy Prime Minister and I held a series of meetings in Port Hedland because the cabinet was meeting there. In a meeting organised by my colleague Senator Lines we heard from the Kariyarra people, the traditional owners and elders, on why the Voice is important to them. In their words they say it's the next step in a long history of advocacy by the Aboriginal people of the Pilbara. I made a promise to return later in the year to speak at the historic Yule River meeting on the Voice.

I then went on to Carnarvon, a small town 900 kays from Perth. Here I met the shire president, and I held a community forum for the Voice at the cultural centre. Carnarvon has been the subject of much speculation in the media, particularly on issues of youth and alcohol. Senior members of that community shared their views about the Voice, that it will be an important element in addressing many of these concerns because, in the words of a Yingkarta local elder, 'The Voice will empower community voices.' Too often regional and remote communities are spoken of and down to, but on each of my regional visits there was a strong support for the Voice because regional and remote communities know what it is like to be ignored by governments. The Voice makes sense to them.

I do want to acknowledge that at times, in these meetings, some elderly non-Aboriginal people disagreed with the Voice proposal and its proposition. I want to say to such senior persons that they are entitled to their view, and that they are appreciated and respected for the contributions they have made to the country. And I would like to put on the record my appreciation for the many non-Aboriginal people who have helped to improve the living conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You are appreciated and respected. We thank you for your contributions over the years. Change is coming. Don't feel threatened by the change. The change will bring us together and not force us apart. We certainly need your support in the forthcoming referendum.

My final days of the Week of Action were spent in Perth. I held meetings with the Noongar Wudja traditional owners where we discussed the importance of the Voice and Western Australian support. This was followed by a meeting with local health organisations and service providers including the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation. Wungening has been operating in Perth since 1988, providing health and family services to those most in need. One staff member, who's been with the organisation for nearly 30 years, shared that she believed the Voice will improve practical outcomes by giving Aboriginal people more of a say. These are the real voices of the Voice and the real stories about the Voice.

Fair-minded Australians know that the Voice is a positive step for the nation and for the First Nations peoples as well. The Voice deserves to exist above the fear-mongering and political games. That is why I concluded the Week of Action with a cross-party panel which included me; Senator Cox; the member for Curtin, Ms Kate Chaney; along with the esteemed academic, Dr Hannah McGlade; and Marcus Stewart, the co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. We came together to talk with, and to listen to, hundreds of people and members of the Perth community on the Voice and its importance to the nations. The Voice must exist above party politics, and I will always extend the hand of bipartisanship wherever I can. The Week of Action is just the start. Momentum is building for the Voice. The official 'yes' campaign recently launched in Adelaide, and I look forward to advocating alongside them as special envoy.

But if this week demonstrated anything, it is that the Voice is a movement of the people. It is the Australian people who will secure the success of this referendum. It will be won around the dinner tables and the sporting grounds and the local RSLs. Do not underestimate the power of a single conversation. As I said to the people in Perth during the Week of Action, what a moment of liberation this will be for all of us—a moment of a successful referendum. Once that's declared, the shackles of the past will fall from us. We will stand with clean hearts and clean consciences and we will know our country is on the path to a better future. We, the Australian people, will make that decision on that day when we cast our referendum vote. Our vote for the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, for them to be part of the Australian Constitution and for them to be able to make representations to the parliament and the executive on matters that affect them, finally having their say in the places where it amounts to very important matters. This will be transformative for our nation and an enhancement to the quality of our own citizenship. It'll bring us together, rather than divide us.