The NSW Ecumenical Council commends to Parliament a referendum for a Voice, as well as a truth-telling process and consultation towards a Treaty or covenant.

We are all Australians living under the Southern Cross. We have matured as a nation on this ancient land. We have become a cosmopolitan Australian society. As Christians we seek that all people in this great land can walk tall, with opportunities and respect available to all. 

First Nations people have much to teach other Australians about the land and waters they have lived in, cared for and cherished for more than 60,000 years. Since colonization, they have suffered much and toiled much. For too long they have been excluded and marginalized in decision-making at all levels in the country, often with disastrous outcomes. 

Therefore, we welcome the Uluru Statement from the Heart as an expression of the hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers.  It is vital that the whole nation hears its call for the voices of First Nations people to be heard in relation to legislation and policies that affect First Nations people.  Enshrining the Voice in the Constitution offers such an opportunity. 

We understand a Voice to be an advisory body of First Nations representatives that can comment on the possible impacts of proposed legislation and initiate discussion within the national parliament concerning proposals to empower First Nations people. 

This proposed Constitutional change to enshrine the Voice will better recognize the identity, cultures, languages and knowledge of the First Nations of this land. It is a matter of justice, reconciliation and building mutually empowering relationships.

Other elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart are also important: a process of truth-telling as a healing process for the nation, as it was in South Africa. A process towards a treaty or covenant with First Nations people would also recognize the significance of the world’s oldest living culture and build mutual respect and understanding towards our shared future.

The NSW Ecumenical Council commits to work with First Nations people to bring true reconciliation and a better future for all people. We support the Voice to Parliament, acknowledging the Uluru Statement from the Heart of 2017. 

We, the NSW Ecumenical Council, will not delay. We will help to make it happen. 

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NSW Ecumenical Council 

Annual General Meeting

17 September 2022