ACTU Indigenous Officer Lara Watson joined us on The Bulletin this week, to share what a win for “Yes” in the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum would mean for her as a proud Birri Gubba woman.
Later this year, the Australian public – some for their first ever voting experience – will be asked if they support the enshrining of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in Australia’s Constitution.
Including an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice into the Constitution will mean any subsequent Government – including those which would happily further erode Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights – can’t strip it away in the blink of an eye.
It won’t fix everything, but it’s a small, albeit crucial, step towards addressing centuries of oppression and inequity built on the lie of terra nullius – the idea that Australia was unoccupied until the arrival of British colonisers.
“You look at the last 200 plus years and we are still in a very poor position, and the system in which we live under has been oppressive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Lara says.
Unions across the country are saying “Yes”
For unionists of non-Indigenous backgrounds, our struggle is inextricably linked to the struggle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.
“We’ve got this really proud history of working in unions but also unions supporting us in the issues that we want to campaign on.”
Lara tells us that she believes in the Australian public and that they’re “ready, and they know enough’s enough.” She also has faith that the trade union movement to hold Government accountable.
“My absolute faith in knowing that what government has committed to will happen is in the trade union movement. I know that if Government tried to renege on anything that they’ve committed to, this movement has committed to ensure that they don’t.”
A step towards meaningful change
The Voice to Parliament will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a seat at the proverbial table, and the opportunity to have genuine input into the decisions on policy and laws that affect them.
“Instead of just sending someone into a community for like 20 minutes, or flying over the top of it, and then going back to ministers and saying, ‘they need this and they need that’, we’ll actually have the capacity to tell government exactly what is needed,” Lara says.
Australia has a long way to go in delivering meaningful justice and achieving equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The union movement will remain staunch and supportive allies to this cause long after the votes have been counted.
For more information on the Voice to Parliament referendum and the Uluru Statement, here are some helpful links:
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/support-a-voice-to-parliament/
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Yes! Unions for a Voice to Parliament