At its 20 September Council meeting, Bega Valley Shire Council considered an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament and resolved on the following motion.
As Australians will vote on Saturday 14 October 2023 in a referendum about changing the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, that Council:
- Acknowledges its role as an information provider and facilitator of community discussions;
- Recognises and respects that there is diversity of views regarding the Voice to Parliament and the referendum and notes that it is not Council’s role to financially support or advocate for a specific position regarding the Voice to Parliament;
- Commits to sharing information on the Voice to Parliament in a respectful manner, making it easy for community members to access accurate and reliable information to form their own opinions and engage in constructive dialogue on the topic, including by providing a link on Council’s website to the Australian Government’s The Voice site (voice.gov.au).
- Council endorses the motion passed at the last Australian Local Government Association conference:
This National General Assembly acknowledges the Australian Government’s support of constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders through a Voice to Parliament and recognises what the Uluru Statement and the Voice to Parliament will mean for Australia’s First Nations peoples and the broader Australian community.
Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick said Council acknowledges its role as an information provider and facilitator of community discussions.
“There are clearly differences of opinion on the referendum across the country and in our own community,” Cr Fitzpatrick said.
“However, one of the great things about Australia is we are all entitled to our own opinion.
“It’s important to respect each other’s opinion and us to vote whichever way we please, without fear of retribution.
“One thing I know about our community is although we may not always agree, we do respect one another.
“Council agreed it was not our role to financially support or advocate for a specific position regarding the Voice to Parliament.
“To ensure our community is well informed on this important nation discussion, we have provided a link on Council’s website to the Australian Government’s The Voice website.”
