From the Heart is the campaign for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution. Its purpose is to provide information so that all Australians can inform themselves and participate confidently in the upcoming referendum – an incredibly significant and unifying opportunity for the country.
Earlier this month, From the Heart Indigenous Engagement Lead Kenny Bedford and General Manager Nick Eakin visited NAISDA to yarn with students and staff about what this means to us, to our futures, and to Australia.
We got the chance to sit down with Kenny afterwards to find out more about this significant opportunity, and how to share, inform and lead conversations with our families, groups and communities.
A former Deputy Mayor of the Torres Strait Island Regional Council and former Torres Strait Regional Authority Member for Erub, Kenny attended the historic Uluru Constitutional Convention in May 2017 and is a signatory to the Uluru Statement From the Heart.
Kenny, tell us a bit about your role at From the Heart.
Currently I am based in Cairns, working with From the Heart in a community engagement role. It incorporates talking to community members about the referendum, what it’s all about, how we got to where we are and what it means for the future. There are a whole range of views and voices out there which is all part and parcel of what we’re talking about.
I’m not surprised people are looking for more information. For a long time, we’ve been talking about having to go to a referendum but there’s not going to be a lot of time between when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced it and when the day is going to happen. But at the same time, as the campaign capabilities build up we are confident people will know exactly what they are voting on when the time comes – and that they will vote Yes.
Tell us about your visit to NAISDA today.
We were grateful to be invited to NAISDA to speak to the students. Young people make up a majority of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and coming from all over Australia, NAISDA students represent an important cross section of the Australian community. And I’ve got to say, the NAISDA students were so enjoyable to work with, extremely engaged and knowledgeable. Some of the questions they came up with were excellent and showed their level of knowledge and interest in the topic.
What we did was break down some of the history of how we got to where we are today with the proposed referendum later this year and how important it is between now and then, that our communities are getting factual information.
We went through a lot of history and truth telling. We spoke about what an important moment this is – not only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but for the Australian nation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have advocated for constitutional reform to recognise their rights as first people of our nation since Federation, and now it is being put to the Australian people. It’s important to acknowledge the work that our Elders and Ancestors did before us and draw the line to what’s happening now to grasp the reality that the chance has finally come for the Australian people to decide whether they are wanting to recognise us in the Constitution or not.
Part of our yarn at NAISDA was not only talking about how we got to where we are today but also empowering our young people. Some of them are voting for the first time this year so we yarned about that responsibility, empowering them to play a role in influencing people in the community about how important this is for our future.
A lot of the discussion was also around clearing the air of the things that don’t really matter. This referendum is about putting something in the Constitution that should have been there from the start, and putting alongside it the ability for our people to give advice on the things that affect them and our community. It is that simple.
Why do we need a First Nations Voice to Parliament?
In short, because we don’t have one currently.
We have had a Voice in the past, the most notable one was the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which was abolished during the Howard Government. This is why it’s important that our Voice is enshrined in the Constitution.
This is not just about righting the wrongs and the omissions of the past; it is also about ensuring we’ve got a Voice to Parliament and ensuring that it is protected by the Constitution and not left to the whim of the Government. That is what has been an issue for us in the past – not being able to establish a body that can remain without a government coming in and changing or abolishing it.
We’ve seen many examples of policies developed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people not working. Largely because the policies have not had input from our peoples. We’re saying, let’s establish a national Voice, one that’s designed from the ground up so that local voices can provide advice.
What will the upcoming referendum deliver?
We are hoping it will deliver enshrined protection guaranteeing us an advisory Voice.
Alongside that, recognition, finally. We’ve been left out of the Constitution as the First Peoples of this nation since 1901, so it’s part of the truth telling that we were here first. That’s important to a lot of our Elders and people who aren’t with us today.
Another important outcome we are hoping to get from this referendum, is the support of the Australian people. After the referendum, we will really know if we have the support of Australians or not. Their support is a step in the right direction and will go a long way to walking, – as per the generous invitation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people extended to the Australian people – to walk with us and to build a more mature nation that benefits all of us.
Thank you very much for your valuable time talking with us today Kenny. Finally where can people access more information to inform themselves?
The www.fromtheheart.com.au and ulurustatement.org websites have all the information that people need to know about covering where we are today and how we got there.