After two years of consultation with First Nations leaders, the federal Government has released the Final Report on a proposal for an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
The following lines are attributable to Yamatji-Noongar Senator for WA, Dorinda Cox, acting Greens spokesperson for First Nations:
“The Greens will closely scrutinise all legislation that the Government puts to the Parliament regarding a Voice. Like always we will work with grassroots First Nations people to make sure all proposals align with the wishes of First Nations people and their communities,” she said.
“Any proposal must uphold the principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“It’s unclear, at this stage, how creating the Voice to Parliament first will affect the process of national truth-telling and healing as we move our country towards a Treaty or Treaties with First Nations people. We haven’t seen the model they’re settling on, so we will be following this closely.
“We are concerned at the timing of this announcement, as it comes very late in the Morrison Governments’ term. There will be an election by May 2022, with a limited number of sitting days before this. It’s unclear how the election will affect this work.
“We would like to thank and congratulate the Voice senior advisory group for their work, particularly Professors Tom Calma and Marcia Langton.
“We look forward to working with the Parliament on this next year.”
