When Anthony Albanese is asked what his government’s Indigenous affairs policy is after the referendum’s failure, his response boils down to: watch this space.

On Tuesday the government will present its latest implementation plan for Closing the Gap, when it brings down its annual report on the progress (or lack of) towards the multiple targets.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney says Tuesday’s statement will “commit to new actions that focus on making a practical difference”.

Albanese told the ABC this week: “The priority [is] very much on employment. How do we take the [Community Development Program] – which is essentially a work-for-the-dole program – and make it real, so it creates real jobs with real skills for Indigenous Australians?”

History and evidence tell us incrementalism is not enough to make a big difference to the parlous condition of Aboriginal people in remote Australia. Equally, ambitions to transform how decisions are made and delivered have so far proved beyond governments.

This week’s blunt report from the Productivity Commission on the 2020 National Agreement on Closing the Gap told governments (federal, state and territory) real progress requires a massive change of ways and mindsets.

The agreement, dating from Scott Morrison’s time, is centred on power sharing and partnerships. But the review’s “overarching finding” is that there’s been “no systematic approach to determining what strategies need to be implemented to disrupt business-as-usual of governments”.

The commission heard from Indigenous people that barriers to reform included “the lack of power sharing needed for joint decision-making and the failure of governments to acknowledge and act on the reality that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best for their communities.”

“Unless governments address the power imbalance in their systems, policies and ways of working, the Agreement risks becoming another broken promise to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” the report says.

According to the review, the commitment to shared decision-making is rarely achieved; government policy doesn’t reflect the value of the Indigenous community-controlled sector; the required transformations of government organisations have barely begun; governments are not enabling Indigenous people to own their own data; and there are issues around accountability.

Deirdre Howard-Wagner, director of research at the Australian National University’s Centre for Indigenous Policy Research, says the commission’s final report is stronger than last year’s (already forthright) draft report.

For example, it says the agreement “needs to be changed to recognise self-determination as the ultimate goal”. It is also “very clear on the desirable path forward” on data governance, shared decision-making and having an independent mechanism to oversee the implementation of the agreement, Howard-Wagner says.

Tuesday’s statement will not provide a response to the review. Burney says it will take some time to work through it with the Coalition of Peaks – the umbrella group for Indigenous organisations – and state and territory governments.

Much has been said about the Albanese government’s caution in pushing a robust reform agenda generally. In Indigenous affairs, it has been badly burned on the Voice, the defeat of which has also produced a more negative climate, seen for instance in the political debate about treaty and truth telling. As Indigenous rights advocate Frank Brennan notes in a Eureka Street article this week, “There is a need to realise that the referendum loss now places the assimilation debate back on the national agenda.”

The Albanese government is likely to find some of the meat in the commission’s report too difficult. If it is to leave any mark on this vexed policy area, however, it must take more responsibility.

Michael Dillon is a former federal bureaucrat with extensive experience in Indigenous affairs who also served as an adviser to Labor minister Jenny Macklin. He points out that the 1967 referendum was about giving the Commonwealth power to make policy for Australia’s Indigenous people. But, he says, the 2020 agreement has, if anything, pushed responsibility back to the states and territories.

“The Commonwealth should step up and take a driving role in this agreement – and, indeed, in national Indigenous policy generally,” argues Dillon, now a visiting fellow at the ANU. Key areas for reform include education, remote housing and remote employment, he says.

Specifically on the reform of the Community Development Program, which is about both income support and getting people into jobs in remote Australia, Dillon says the government should pick out several specific areas for development.

For example, jobs could be created to assist Indigenous people in managing the enormous swathes of land they own under native title. Much of this land, in remote challenging parts of the country, can be a liability for them, because of feral animals and weeds, rather than the asset it should be. This employment would massively build on the existing successful rangers working-on-Country program, Dillon says.

Another initiative he suggests is expanding the Indigenous workforce in the community services sector, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Thirdly, in relation to remote housing, Dillon sees opportunity for creating Indigenous maintenance teams to repair houses and facilities in remote communities.

Potentially, the energy transition could present prospects for Indigenous people. Energy Minister Chris Bowen is co-developing a First Nations Clean Energy Strategy. Bowen points to projects in Canada involving Indigenous people.

“A big proportion of Canada’s renewable energy is actually owned by their First Nations people, much, much bigger than in Australia. Now can we turn that ship around overnight? No, but do we have things to do? Yes. And are there some early signs of growth and encouragement? Yes. There’s been some big First Nations involvement in some big renewable energy investments, and I want to see much more of it,” Bowen told The Conversation’s Politics Podcast.

Dillon is emphatic that a very large injection of funds is needed to tackle employment and other areas of need in remote communities. “In remote Australia it’s a poly-crisis,” he says. “Every rock you pick up, there’s a scorpion.”

In his submission to the commission’s review, Dillon called for an assessment of the financial investments required to close the gap over the next decade or two. “Without such an estimate, the community at large are left in the dark, forever thinking that the incessant tinkering around the edges by governments are in fact contributing to closing the gap, whereas in fact mere tinkering contributes to and sustains the maintenance of the status quo,” he wrote.

“While the estimated cost will be substantial, so too are the costs of not closing the gap; costs that will continue to fall regressively on the most disadvantaged segments of the Australian community.”

Next week’s implementation plan will be a test of whether the Albanese government can produce policy muscle in Indigenous affairs.

On another front, Albanese has it in his power to make one desirable gesture. The governor-generalship comes up soon, and an Indigenous appointment would be appropriate and welcome. This should not be regarded as consolation for the referendum debacle. Rather, it should be seen as an overdue acknowledgement of our First Nations people.

Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The steering committee, which will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, will specifically focus on advice relating to the development of the standalone First Nations National Plan to end violence against women and children. The plan addresses Target 13 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap 2020-2030, which states the government’s goal to halve the rate of family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by 2031.

 “The First Nations National Plan will guide a whole of society approach to addressing the unacceptable rates of family violence and abuse against First Nations women and children,” Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said.

 “The Steering Committee will work in genuine partnership with all levels of government to embed the voices and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the First Nations National Plan.

“The appointment of this committee progresses our Government’s work to end violence against women and children in Australia in one generation.”

In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are disproportionately impacted by family violence. They are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised and six times more likely to die from domestic violence, compared to non-Indigenous women.

The committee has a two-year term and is comprised of 12 prominent non-government First Nations representatives, 2 Commonwealth representatives, 8 state and territory representatives, as well as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner.

The federal government is partnering with SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children, an organisation that will support the development of the First Nations National Plan.

“A focus of our approach will be to make sure the voices and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are heard in the development of Australia’s first standalone First Nations National Plan to keep women and families safe,” said SNAICC CEO, Catherine Liddle.

Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians, said the committee was one way the Albanese government was working to address the high rates of family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“The members of the First Nations Steering Committee bring an enormous depth of experience and expertise and will play an important role in providing guidance and advice.

“This is a demonstration of the Albanese government’s commitment to working in genuine partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to address significant challenges, including family violence and abuse”.

The non-government members of the First Nations steering committee are:

• Adjunct Professor Muriel Bamblett AO, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Chairperson of SNAICC
• Rachel Bruce, Operations Manager at Mura Kosker Society, Thursday Island
• Papunya Connors, Team Leader at Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation
• Professor Kyllie Cripps, Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director, Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University
• Wynetta Dewis, Chair of the National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Forum
• Rachel Dunn, Advocate for the prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence in Tasmania
• Alicia Johnson, Senior Policy Officer at the First Peoples Disability Network
• Tess Moodie, victim-survivor and systematic change advocate for the prevention of gender-based violence in Tasmania and nationally
• Craig Rigney, CEO of the KWY Aboriginal Corporation
• Connie-Anne Shaw, After Hours Youth Worker at Tangentyere Council
• Shane Sturgiss, CEO of the BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation
• Associate Professor Hannah McGlade, School of Law, Curtin University

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via 1800RESPECT.org.au or text 0458 737 732.

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au.

To speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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The investment is the next stage in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan which operates under the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.

The targeted research aims to provide culturally-informed data, led by First Nations peoples, which will contribute to concrete action towards ending violence against women and children within the next ten years.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the research will be a critical part of the government’s work towards the elimination of family and domestic violence.

“It is vital that First Nations peoples lead and own the research that helps to understand the nature and extent of experiences of violence for First Nations women and children,” Minister Rishworth said.

“This not only means that we can gain a much stronger picture of the nature and extent of family violence, but that First Nations people have sovereignty over the research and resulting data that will help shape solutions and strategies to end violence against First Nations women and children.”

Family and domestic violence disproportionately affects First Nations women, who are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of the violence than non-Indigenous women.

Sadly, First Nations women are six times more likely to die from family and domestic violence than non-Indigenous women.

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Part of the National Agreement to Close the Gap is the target to reduce the rate of all forms of family violence and abuse against First Nations women and children by 50 per cent by 2031. Minister Rishworth said the first step towards achieving this target is through targeted research.

“Through a First Nations-led research approach, the Government will drive meaningful change, shaped by First Nations voices and grounded in data that reflects the priorities, knowledge and wisdom of First Nations cultures,” she said.

“With community-led data, we can take effective, targeted action to end family, domestic, and sexual violence for First Nations women and children, better measure our progress against Closing the Gap targets and take significant strides towards a safer Australia.”

The $15 million First Nations-led research will be delivered over five years.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au

Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au

Carer Inclusive Workplace Initiative

The Department of Social Services, headed by Minister Amanda Rishworth, has launched several new initiatives under the leadership of the Albanese government, including the Carer Inclusive Workplace Initiative.

The Albanese government announced the new framework at the end of October during Carers Week, saying it will be a win for all unpaid carers in Australia, but also a win for employers.

Last week, Minister Amanda Rishworth spoke on the Women’s Agenda weekly podcast, The Crux, to give more information on what’s involved in the initiative.

“We know that there are so many unpaid carers – one in nine Australians actually do unpaid care,” Minister Rishworth said.

“What we want to do is encourage workplaces and employers to have a look at their policies and procedures, how inclusive they are as an employer to accommodate someone’s caring responsibilities as well as work responsibilities.”

The Carer Inclusive Workplace Initiative involves an 11-question self-assessment tool for an employer to determine what policies and practices exist and are working in their workplace, and where they can improve. There will also be learning resources available for employers to work on creating a more inclusive environment for unpaid carers.

If a workplace is deemed inclusive for all unpaid carers under the self-assessment tool, the employer is eligible to display a logo advertising their inclusivity.

“Often employers imagine the whole thing is too hard,” Minister Rishworth said.

“But what this initiative will do, it will actually demonstrate that just some small adjustments can actually make a big difference.”

You can check out the full podcast episode, plus all other episodes on The Crux, here.

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In this pertinent episode of Dateline, set to premiere tonight on SBS, the proud Indigenous journalist and beloved Living Black host asks whether or not having a voice in parliament will make a difference to the lives of her people.

In the lead up to Australia’s historic referendum vote to change the constitution to reflect First Nations people, Grant’s deeply personal journey through the Arctic Karla allows her to hear a range of perspectives on the Sámi Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and learn if their voice is actually being heard in the halls of power. 

Speaking with Women’s Agenda, Grant says the insightful conversations with the Sámi people demonstrate that, “while the Sámi Parliament model may not be perfect, it has played a huge role in keeping their culture alive and instilling pride within their people.” 

“It’s also given them a seat at the table in decision making,” she adds, noting that it has been a huge step forward for their people compared to where they stood as oppressed people without a voice centuries ago. 

Parallels across cultures

While filming the episode, Grant says she came across many similarities between Sámi people and First Nations people in Australia, despite the geographical distance.

“I formed a very close bond with the people I met and I easily slipped into conversations with them because of the bond we share as Indigenous people,” she says. “There were many emotional moments as they opened up to me and they said many things I could instantly relate to.”

“For thousands of years the Sámi were persecuted to the point where many denounced their Sámi heritage, they were not able to speak their language, practise their culture or wear their traditional dress,” says Grant. 

While many were forced to hide their “Sámi-ness” because of this persecution, Grant says that these days they’re finally able to celebrate their culture and “are stronger than ever in their identity” thanks to the formation of the Sámi parliament in 1989, establishing the right for Sámi to have a say on matters concerning their people.

“Once I heard about this history from many of the Sámi people I spoke to, it was clear to me that the impact of colonisation is something we share and that in itself creates a bond for us as First Nations people facing who have experienced similar struggles, even though we live at opposite ends of the world,” she says.

Insights for Australia

Looking at how the Sámi people’s success in revitalising their culture could potentially translate to Australia, Grant says one of the initiatives she’d love to see replicated is funding to teach children their language and culture from an early age.

In Norway, Grant says “ One initiative provides funding to those working in kindergartens and gives out language grants so that infants attending kindy can learn the Sámi language.”

“This would be a wonderful initiative to have in our own kindergartens as well as primary and high schools for Indigenous kids to learn their own Aboriginal language.”

“I wish that my mother and grandparents had been able to teach me our language so that I could in turn pass that on to my own children,” she says. “I feel that language is a huge part of our identity as a people and for me that part is missing.”

Will the Voice to Parliament make a difference?

From speaking with the  Sámi, Grant says she’s been able to conclude that while there’s no perfect model, the Voice to Parliament has potential to give First Nations people a seat at the decision-making table,  revitalise culture and strengthen Indigenous identity. 

“From speaking with Sámi from different walks of life during the course of filming this story, and after learning about their history and hearing about how their Parliament works, I can see where it has made a difference and I can see where it is struggling,” says Grant. 

Amongst it all, however, she says the Sámi are in a “far better” place from where they were before they were given a voice. 

“When you take a step back and look at it, the Sámi Parliament has been in existence for 34 years,” says Grant. “Nothing bad has happened to Norwegian people or their country, the sky has not fallen.”

“And while it hasn’t been an easy path the Sámi will continue to fight for the rights of their people.”

Watch Dateline’s The Sámi People episode on Tuesday 19th September at 9.30pm on SBS, SBS On Demand and NITV and visit the SBS Voice Referendum portal and SBS On Demand Voice referendum hub  to be informed, in your preferred language.

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This was a question posed by a woman in The Sydney Morning Herald’s comments section today. And, let’s face it, it’s a fair one.

Over the weekend, we witnessed scores of Australians rallying harmoniously in support of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. They donned badges, t-shirts, hats and held placards with messages of solidarity and support.

As a fellow ‘Yes’ supporter, it was heartening. Moments like these make us see how much good intent there is among voters.

Those who support the October 14 referendum are proud of their decision. Often, they will happily debate the pros of the legislation in a bid to sway others sitting on the fence. They want to campaign and volunteer and adorn their houses with ‘Yes’ posters.

 Prominent figure heads and celebrities who back The Voice, feel this same commitment to speak up. They know what’s at stake if we fail to back this in. If you feel passionately about Australia’s responsibility to get things right, it’s near impossible to stay silent.

When one of Australia’s most revered and nationally beloved singer-songwriters John Farnham lent his iconic song “You’re the Voice” to the campaign (the first time he’d allowed the song to run with any form of advertising), he noted:

“This song changed my life. I can only hope that now it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations peoples for the better.”

Where then, is this same conviction from the ‘No’ side?

Why aren’t we seeing ‘No’ campaigners out in the streets, brochures in hand, gently persuading those around them to follow suit?

Why aren’t we seeing high profile figures (leaving aside former or current politicians with palpable agendas) publicly speaking out about the perceived challenges ahead and their fierce resolve against a change in our constitution?  

Where are the protests? The rallies? The flags? The hype?

Nowhere.

Instead, most of those voting ‘no’, are either staying mute or frenetically punching out their disgruntlement on computer keyboards across the country. They know their position is contentious, so they’re keeping their face out of the debate. They know their decision doesn’t reflect them favourably.

For the worst of the ‘no’ voters, the behaviour is more insidious. They’re spouting racism and bigotry in dark corners of X. They’re using this moment in history to capitalise on the worst impulses of their fellow citizens and succumbing to the fear and toxicity themselves.

Voting is a freedom we, as Australians should never take lightly. It’s a right, yes. But it is also a firm privilege. If you are not open or proud of the way you vote, the way you perceive the world, perhaps it’s time to take stock.

If you’re not proud of your vote, imagine how disappointed First Nations people are.

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NSW is home to approximately 140,000 First Nations women and girls, and yet there’s a persistent gap in their employment rates compared to the rest of the population. 

According to the 2021 Census, the labour force participation rate for First Nations women in New South Wales was 56 per cent. This compares to 59 per cent for non-Indigenous women, 60 per cent for First Nations men and 66 per cent for non-Indigenous men. 

The reasons for this are vast, as shown in the report– First Nations women are more likely to be carers, not only to their own children, but to extended family and community members.

Disproportionate rates of domestic and family violence are also factors, with First Nations women being three times more likely to be victims than non-Indigenous women.

Racism, discrimination and a lack of familial wealth play a role in First Nations women’s economic disparities as well.

The priorities outlined in the report align with the need for a standalone strategy to consider these unique challenges faced by First Nations women in accessing economic opportunities. This need was initially identified in the NSW Women’s Economic Opportunities Review, established in February 2022. 

The latest findings from the First Nations Women’s Economic Participation Review provides a baseline of First Nations women’s current economic participation and has identified five areas that could help elevate their economic position. 

The priority areas include: thriving homes and communities, engagement in education, workplace support, entrepreneurship and social enterprise and First Nations Female Led Programs. 

These key areas were identified through state-wide consultations and by an Expert Advisory Panel, made up of First Nations entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and policy experts. 

Panel member and Director Indigenous Strategy and Engagement at Westpac Jocelyn King said that ever since the first conversations between Captain Cook and the Aboriginal people during colonisation, women have been missing from the conversation. 

“Our women were the glue that held our families together and they continue to do that,” said King. 

“What I want this report to get across is that we are not the problem, we are the solution.”

“If women are there and have a seat at the table, then we can close the gap in a generation,” she said. “And not the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, but the gap between cultures– because I believe our culture enriches everyone.”

The priorities outlined in the report align with the need for a standalone strategy to consider the unique challenges faced by First Nations women in accessing economic opportunities. This need was identified in the NSW Women’s Economic Opportunities Review, established in February 2022. 

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Marlee Silva has been having a recurring nightmare. 

It’s the day after the referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In her dream, she is waking up to the news that it’s been a No vote.

“I just don’t know how we would pick up and carry on,” she says.

“I know we can overcome everything, and we will… I just don’t want to think about the ripple effect and the impact it would have on our community.”

A Gamilaroi and Dunghutti woman, Marlee knows this might be the last chance she will have in her lifetime to create and see change for her people.

Up until now, she’s held back her voice.

“I’ve been towing the line for a while because I don’t want to draw attention to myself – it’s not about any one individual person,” she says.

“I absolutely can’t be silent anymore. I’m not holding myself back.”

Marlee, a writer, journalist and activist, is ready to speak out on the referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which is set to take place between September and December. Australians will vote on recognition for Australia’s first peoples in the Constitution and an independent and permanent parliamentary body set up for First Nations’ peoples to have a say in policies that directly affect them.

And according to Professor Megan Davis, co-author of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, it’s critical that young women like Marlee are given platform during this debate, as it’s young First Nations’ voices that have been critically missing up till now.

Thankfully this is changing.

Allira Davis and Bridget Cama, co-chairs of the Uluru Youth Dialogue, are running the Hands on Heart Voice Conference at Barangaroo on Gadigal Land (Sydney) August 24-26.

The goal of the conference is to educate, activate and connect nearly 100 young non-Indigenous voices before the referendum.

“Leaning on our allies right now is really crucial at this point,” Allira Davis says.

“Once people understand the message, it’s powerful.”

What is the Voice?

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament is one of three pillars that constitute the Uluru Statement from the Heart, written in 2017 by more than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates of the National First Nations Constitutional Convention.

Should the referendum end in a Yes vote, the Voice in Parliament, an independent and permanent parliamentary body, would be selected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from local communities. It would be gender-balanced, involve youth representatives and allow First Nations’ voices to be heard.

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It is the first step of the full implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart: voice, treaty and truth. Following the Voice, Makarrata, meaning “the coming together after a struggle”, will allow for treaty and truth-telling processes for Australia’s history.

While other former British colonies like New Zealand, Canada and the United States have a treaty with its Indigenous peoples, Australia does not.

Young voters and young voices

Young Australians have immense power to decide the fate of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) estimates Millennials and Gen Z make up about 43 per cent of the nation’s voting population.

They have already shown their strength in numbers in the 2022 federal election. After nine consecutive years of a conservative government, reports found young people were to blame in the shift to a Labor-led government and a record of 12 independent seats in the Upper House. 

The focus on “issue-based politics” emerging this decade is the driving force for this shift. Research shows young people become more engaged when political conversations are more issue-based or policy-based, rather than partisan-based. 

You only have to look at the Black Lives Matter, climate action and reproductive rights movements – to name a few – to see that it is largely young people spearheading this action.

But young people can’t vote for a cause they can’t see, which is what Cobble Cobble woman Professor Megan Davis is concerned about. In a recent interview on the weekly Women’s Agenda podcast, The Crux, she expressed her concern over who is driving the conversations surrounding the Voice to Parliament.

“All we have is bureaucrats and politicians who think they know better, who think they know best, and they don’t allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a voice,” she says.

“We know that Gen Z is leading the nation as Yes voters. Where are their faces? Where are the faces of the Australians who support this?”

Professor Davis says it’s up to young people, particularly young Indigenous women, to step up and let their voices be heard in the conversation.

“Because they will inherit this. This is their future. And the country needs to listen to what they are saying,” she says.

“And it’s really a large proportion of Gen Z who are saying Yes.”

To spotlight Millennial and Gen Z voices, Allira Davis and Bridget Cama, co-chairs of the Uluru Youth Dialogues, are targeting young people in their Hands on Heart Youth Voice National Conference, which will take place August 24-27.

Allira Davis, a Cobble Cobble woman, has worked in public service, policy programs and advocacy. Through working with the nation’s leaders, she has always been told that young people are the hope for the future.

“So that’s what we’re trying to do,” she says. 

“We’re trying to be hopeful… getting a bunch of young, amazing, deadly people together and hopefully pushing this movement towards the Yes vote.”

During the Conference, the team at Uluru Youth Dialogues will break down key elements of the referendum, including what a referendum and the Constitution actually is, how the Voice would operate and more. All the information they will share with these young people is available on the Uluru Statement’s website and social media accounts.

Bridget Cama, a Wiradjuri First Nations and Pasifika Fijian woman, is an associate of the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW. She says informing young people on the key details of the vote, including all the legal aspects of it, will help spread information to Australians easily.

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“We know that the community is thirsty for information,” she says.

“They just don’t know where to get it from at the moment because the issue is being so politicised in the media.

“This was an issue that was never meant to be politicised in terms of party lines. This was from the Uluru Statement, which was an invitation to the rest of Australians to make a decision of whether or not they would walk with us to Voice and Makarrata – treaty and truth.”

‘My role, my duty’

As discussions and debates over the Indigenous Voice to Parliament continue to surface and grow in volume, Marlee is vividly reminded of her school days.

She was in Year 7 and the only Aboriginal-identifying student in her Sutherland shire high school when Kevin Rudd delivered the Sorry speech in 2007. Suddenly, all eyes were on her.

“I got looked at as a bit of a unicorn… a symbol,” she says.

“I became the educator and the example of Aboriginal people for my peers. And that was a lot of pressure, particularly because I was still a kid that was still learning. Even now, I’m still learning.”

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Marlee was discovering her own identity and her own culture throughout high school, yet as a young person, she was still relied on to educate everyone around her – even her teachers.

The pressure to be the tokenistic “example” and information-bearer for her school – all the while learning of the genocide of her family and culture herself and constantly dealing with racism – infuriated her.

“I was such an angry kid, because I had come to learn a lot more about the history and the genocide, this suffering and sacrifice of my family, but also the broader community. That made me angry,” she says.

“And then the way that kids would pick on me with racism made me angrier. 

“And the way that teachers didn’t listen to me when I told them what was happening made me the angriest.”

As a young adult, Marlee channelled the anger and frustration she felt into giving back to the community in various roles in the non-for-profit sector, including working as the co-CEO for the Aboriginal education charity AIME Mentoring.

In 2020, she published her first book My Tidda, My Sister: Stories of strength and resilience from Australia’s first women, where she spotlighted stories from important First Nations’ women of the past, present and future.

But her career change into sports media was fuelled by the pressure she felt and continues to feel as the young “spokesperson” for First Nations people amongst her friends, peers and community.

“In my personal life, I have become the person that people are turning to to understand what’s happening,” she says.

So she took a step back away from the spotlight. Her voice – a young, Indigenous woman’s voice – was being heard, but her mental health was paying the price.

Since making the change and becoming a sports presenter with the NRLW, work has become a point of refuge for Marlee, away from the pressure to be the educator, the example, the reference point that she always was in school and beyond.

But being one of the “statistically insignificant” Indigenous people that appear on television in Australia, Marlee now feels it is her duty to speak up.

“I am in a small percentage of people who are on TV who have stories like mine, who come from families like mine, and therefore it is my role and my duty to my community to talk to non-Indigenous people and explain what it (the Voice) means,” she says.

A simple message

The referendum has been announced to take place on October 14, where Australians will vote on the question: 

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

For Millennials and Gen Z, this will be their first ever vote to amend the constitution.

There has not been a successful referendum since 1977, and out of 44 referendums in Australia, just eight have carried.

A study from the Australian Electoral Study in 2022 asked: “If a referendum were held to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, would you support or oppose such a change to the Constitution?”

The results found 90 per cent of people aged 18-34 either supported or strongly supported the referendum.

However, the No campaign has made its mark in recent months. Polling from The Guardian shows overall support for the Voice has fallen below 50 per cent, as of early August 2023.

Results like this are fuelling Marlee’s recurring nightmare.

“I just don’t want us to have to figure out what life after a No vote looks like,” she says.

“It shouldn’t be about left and right because, at the end of the day, this is about our people surviving and prospering.

“This has nothing to do with politics. This is all to do with the survival of our first people.”

In a world where the attention economy is sparse, information is abundant, misinformation is rife and young people are looking for short, easy answers to large-scale issues, Marlee has a simple response.

“The Voice will not change a non-Indigenous person’s life. But it can change mine. It can change my community’s for the better,” she says

“It can mean that the horrible inequities that still exist can finally, maybe, be dissolved.”

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This year, filmmakers have captured more than a few remarkable First Nations stories, showcasing kinship, activism and extraordinary resilience. Here are our top four movies/tv shows that elegantly highlight Indigenous past, present and future.

The First Inventors

The new series “The First Inventors” on NITV and Network Ten highlights the extraordinary knowledge and inventions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The themes of each episode explore how Indigenous knowledge in navigation, aeronautics, kinship, memory, trade and communication helps us to understand our country’s past and how we might navigate our future.

The New Boy

This film is rightfully receiving a lot of praise recently. Twenty years in the making, the cinematography is glorious, and the collaboration between director Warwick Thorton and actor Cate Blanchett is perfection. It is the story of a 9 year old unnamed aboriginal orphan who arrives at a remote monastery in the middle of the night run by a renegade untraditional nun. The film is showing now at all good cinemas.

You Can Go Now

Another brilliant Larissa Behrendt production. The recent documentary “You Can Go Now” highlights fifty years of first nations activism in Australia through the lens of contemporary Australian Aboriginal artist Richard Bell. It’s a powerful tribute to a man who has dedicated his entire life to art, activism and protest.

Limbo

Directed by Indigenous auteur Ivan Sen, Limbo is a crime/ mystery set in a sun-scorched Australian opal mining town. It features a jaded detective who arrives to investigate the murder of a local Indigenous girl 20 years earlier. The crime still feels like fresh trauma for the girl’s family and the local Indigenous community, but for the town’s white members it is viewed as ancient history. Sen describes the film as “a story that affected my family and also a lot of other Indigenous families around Australia ”. The film premieres on ABCTV and iview on Sunday July 9 at 8.30pm.

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Here, we take a look at our top five favourites, and encourage you to go out and buy yourself a copy.

Ellen van Neerven – Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity

Award-winning First Nations author, Ellen van Neerven is one of the most prolific and celebrated poets working in Australia today.

As a person of Mununjali and Dutch heritage, their first book, Heat and Light was the recipient of the David Unaipon Award, the Dobbie Literary Award and the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Indigenous Writers Prize.

In their latest collection of essays, blending poetry and memoir, the self-proclaimed “armchair enthusiast of soccer” asks “What does it mean to play sport on First Nations land?” 

Through personal anedcotes and beautifully exacting prose, van Neerven explores our country’s relationship with sports, race, gender and sexuality.

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Pondering the book in a recent piece published by The Conversation, Professor of Indigenous Health at Queensland University of Technology, Chelsea Watego described the book as “a beautiful story of Blackfulla love – for sport, for Country. Most importantly, it’s a story of finding love for ourselves.” 

Van Neerven is also teaching a masterclass on writing for First Nations writers later this year at Varuna, in the Blue Mountains. You can find out more information here. 

Find Personal Score: Sport, culture, identity here.

Susie Anderson – The Body Country

Since 2011, the State Library of Queensland has teamed up with Australian Council for the Arts, Hachette Australia and Magabala Books to award two writing Fellowships to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writers with an unpublished manuscript. 

The black&write Fellowships give the recipients time and money to assist them with manuscript development, and a publishing opportunity at the end of their project. 

Wergaia and Wemba Wemba woman, Susie Anderson won the fellowship in 2021, with her poetry manuscript called The Body Country — which will be published later this month by Hachette. 

The collection examines her relationship to land, identity, memory, love and art. On her website, Anderson describes the book as “an essay…which reflects on how the self is crafted through experience, memory and identity…[and] threaded through the poetry collecting…that span over the past 10 years.”

In her 2020 editorial note for Cordite Poetry, she described poetry as “a living thing: conversations around this journal taught me grace, humility, compassion and openness.” 

The Melbourne-based digital producer has been writing for publications including Archer, Artist Profile, Artlink, un magazine. She was also included in the popular anthology, “Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia” which was published by Black Inc. in 2018 and has since become a core text in the VCE curriculum. 

Find The Body Country here.

Ali Cobby Eckermann – She is the Earth

Yankunytjatjara/Kokatha poet and artist Ali Cobby Eckermann has been working in South Australia for many decades, developing collections across multiple disciplines. She made international headlines in 2017 when she was awarded the major US literary prize, Windham-Campbell, worth $215,000, which is given to a writer who is unaware they are even in the running. 

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Her poetry has been published in prestigious international journals including The Poetry Foundation, and her collections, “little bit long time” and “Inside My Mother” have won many literary awards. 

Known for her visceral poetic style, Eckermann’s latest verse novel is a taut 96-page powerhouse examining the weight of grief and celebrates the healing power of Country. In her review of the work, author Sian Cain described the collection as one that “…feels both dreamlike and visceral, the talented poet making a nebulous plane of existence feel miraculously tangible…[it is] beautifully metaphysical…charts this journey of sound, light, rock and sea; we witness the creation of Country.” 

Find She is the Earth here.

Ruby Langford Ginibi – Don’t Take Your Love To Town

This year, the University of Queensland Press have released fresh new editions of modern First Nations classics, including Jeanine Leane’s “Purple Threads”, Herb Wharton’s “Unbranded” and Tony Birch’s “Blood”.

Ruby Langford Ginibi’s seminal work of Indigenous memoir, “Don’t Take Your Love To Town” is also among the collection — a powerful story of courage, grief and resilience faced by a young woman. 

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Originally published in 1988, the book was the first of five autobiographies that Ginibi published over her three-decade long career. 

In an essay written released in conjunction with the new release, the Miles Franklin winner and Wiradjuri writer,Tara June Winch wrote that “Decades later [the book] retains its relevance and importance, still sounding a clarion call to the future for understanding and a breaking of the cycle of social and racial disadvantage for Aboriginal Australians, at long last.”

This latest edition includes an Introduction by Yuwaalaraay artist and writer Nardi Simpson. 

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Find Don’t Take Your Love To Town here.

Karlie Noon, Krystal De Napoli – First Knowledges Astronomy: Sky Country

“Everything is connected and everything and everyone has a place. I knew these words were the truth from the day I was born.”

Thus begin’s Karlie Noon’s introduction on her personal perspectives in the book she co-authored with fellow astrophysicist and First Nations writer, Gomeroi woman Krystal De Napoli. 

In six, concise and informative chapters, both scientists take readers through a journey rooted in the celebration of Indigenous ways of knowing, and of understanding the night sky. 

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With clarity, poise and insight, the authors delve into the contextually significant and practical knowledge held by First People, as well as Torres Strait Islanders’ intimate astronomical knowledge, technical aspects of planetariums, and ways of keeping these important knowledges alive. 

Find First Knowledges Astronomy: Sky Country here.

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The proposed Voice to Parliament would be an independent advisory body that allows First Nations people input into laws and policies that affect them. 

The final Senate vote for a referendum on the Voice came down to 52 votes in support and 19 votes against, with Labor and Greens unanimously in support. The Liberal party opposes the Voice but supports holding a referendum so most voted in favour. The Nationals and One Nation voted against the proposal as well as UAP Senator Ralph Babet and Independent (formerly Green) Senator Lidia Thorpe. 

Prime minister Anthony Albanese is expected to announce a referendum for October. He is required to set a date no sooner than two months and no later than six months now that the Senate has voted after months of parliamentary procedures. 

Before the vote, the assistant minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, told the Senate: “First Nations people want this to happen. They’re reaching out to all Australians, to be able to feel proud of this time in our country’s history, where we can lift one another up.” 

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, said leading up to the Senate’s vote that a “referendum is about two things: recognition and listening” and that the Australian people now have a chance to make history.

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The bill’s passing was met with a standing ovation and applause. Indigenous leaders Tom Calma, Megan Davis and Pat Anderson were among the crowded public galleries. 

The Voice to Parliament was first proposed in the Uluru Statement of the Heart, delivered by 250 first nations leaders in 2017. 

Earlier this year, the government announced its official proposal to add a Voice to Parliament to the Constitution. 

Following the Senate’s passing of the Voice, committees of politicians who voted yes and no in the parliament will be given 28 days to assemble persuasive essays that will be sent to all Australians in an official referendum pamphlet.

To find out more information about the Voice to Parliament, the government has an official website. 

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One of Australia’s most significant gatherings of First Nations women, the summit aims to improve the nation’s approach for advancing the rights, health, safety, wellbeing and prosperity of First Nations women and girls. 

The gathering will do this by allowing First Nations women to speak on their own terms about these issues to government, policymakers and service providers.

The Summit is the culmination of a five-year systemic change project led by the Commission’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO.

“First Nations women know what is needed to nurture and protect our families and communities. We have the knowledge, we have the skills, we have the networks and, most importantly, we have the determination,” said Oscar. 

“We are ready, and have always been ready to transform our cultural power, knowledges and lived experiences into effective policy and program outcomes. This is what the Summit and Wiyi Yani U Thangani as a national initiative is all about.”

In Wiyi Yani Thangani First Nation’s Women’s Safety Policy Forum Outcomes Report, released in November 2022, data revealed that First Nations women are estimated to experience sexual violence at a rate three times greater than non-Indigenous women and even higher rates of family violence. 

Indigenous women are also 32 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family violence as non-Indigenous women, and are 11 times more likely to die from assault. 

Caring responsibilities often fall onto First Nations women as well, with 61 per cent of these women providing support for someone living outside of their household, and the same percentage living with dependent children. 

Delivered by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Wiyi Yani U Thangani National Summit will help to reshape policies and programs that impact entire First Nations’s families and communities through supporting women. 

“When we centre our women, entire communities benefit,” says a video released by the Commission, explaining the expansive positive impacts garnered from elevating First Nations’ women’s voices. 

“Together, we can overcome discrimination and achieve equality. To build a fairer, stronger and more inclusive nation. It is time for First Nations’ gender justice and equality.”

“Australia, come on this journey with us.”

At the National Convention Centre Canberra on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country from 9 – 11 May 2023, over 70 speakers and presenters will guide delegates through a diverse range of topics such as societal healing and intergenerational wellbeing, economic justice and empowerment and the impact the proposed Voice to Parliament will have for advancing the aspirations of First Nations women and girls. 

Many of Australia’s most high-profile First Nations women will be at the event, including Federal Indigenous Australians’ Minister Linda Burney, academics/activists Professor Marcia Langton, Prof. Hannah McGlade and Prof. Jackie Huggins and former Senator and Olympian Nova Peris.

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Of the more positive findings in the 2023 Board Diversity Index, there seems to be a growing First Nations representation on boards.

The report, from Watermark Search International and the Governance Institute of Australia, found Indigenous board representation in the top 300 ASX listed companies increased slightly from two to four directors holding six seats over the past year. 

Other key findings include a slight increase of women on boards since 2022, from 32 per cent to 35 per cent, and a 15 per cent increase of women on smaller company boards from the same year. 

Currently, there are no female directors on 15 of the ASX Top 300 boards, and only 10 per cent of directors are from non-Anglo-Celtic backgrounds. The average age of board directors and length of tenure has remained steady as well.

Governance Institute Chair Pauline Vamos said boards should consider all facets of diversity in who is represented to avoid ‘groupthink’ and deliver better decision-making processes for stakeholders.

“In the year where Australians will participate in a referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, it is perhaps timely for companies to consider how they can boost Indigenous voices in the boardroom,” said Vamos. 

Adding to the need for improving First Nations representation, Governance Institute Fellow and Chair of the Aurora Education Foundation Charles Prouse says companies need to create new recruiting pathways to find First Nations board members, noting that hundreds of First Nations people can be found on board areas centred around education, health, economic opportunity and justice.  

Echoing this sentiment to have companies broaden their search to create diversity, David Evans, Managing Partner of Watermark Search International said they “regularly challenge chairs and boards to look beyond the initial tight criteria of just ‘experience on a similar board’ and really focus on what other people might add to the board’s conversation”.

Another barrier to diversity for companies to be aware of is that minority groups might not feel safe to self-disclose, according to Mark Baxter, co-founder of the Australian Association of LGBTQ+ Board and Executive Inclusion (ALBEI).

Butler said that “ALBEI estimates between 10-15 people who identify as LGBTQ+ are currently on ASX200 boards, though we don’t have enough data to work with yet.”

“Some of our members, particularly men, are reluctant to disclose, fearing career repercussions due to the sense that ‘traditionally masculine leadership’ is more desirable.” 

Baxter also notes that Australia is behind other similar nations like the UK or the US in collecting and reporting specific data. He says there are growing calls for more people with disabilities and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to help guide corporate boards on how to improve interactions with customers. 

Adding to this lack of data collection, the Watermark Search International/Governance Institute of Australia Board Diversity Index is the only comprehensive analysis of Australian boards that measures diversity across Australia’s top 300 ASX listed companies in five key areas: gender, cultural background, age, skills/experience, tenure and independence. 

“The lack of data does not mean a problem with representation for these groups does not exist. It probably means the problem has not been actively considered,” Baxter said.  

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