In 2018, NSWNMA delegates at Committee of Delegates passed a resolution in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart:
That this Committee of Delegates recognises that as a health union the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association has a special responsibility to support measures that contribute to improved health outcomes and progress reconciliation with Australia’s First Peoples. The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association reaffirms its commitment to closing the gap in health and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians. We recognise that this will require a multifaceted approach and that self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must be fundamental. Therefore, this Committee of Delegates supports implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart as another step forward on the path to Reconciliation.
As a health union, the NSWNMA has a responsibility to support measures that contribute to improved health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
A Voice body will advise on issues like education, health and employment. In the past, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people haven’t had opportunities to have input into policies.
First Nations people have asked for that recognition to be through something very practical and simple: a Voice to Parliament, which means having a say in matters that affect their/our lives and communities.
The first step in the process is to get support from the Australian public to recognise First Nations knowledge in the constitution. The second step will involve a detailed consultation process to determine how the Voice to Parliament will work. It doesn’t make any sense to do that detailed consultation until Australian people support a change the constitution.
After the vote, Parliament will finalise the details of the Voice. It will then be up to First Nations communities across the country to shape what the Voice to Parliament looks like.
There will be a long consultation process to make sure the model effectively shapes government policy and secures better outcomes for all of us.
Voting Yes in the referendum is a step in the right direction toward reconciliation.
After 65,000 years of continuous culture, it’s time Australia’s first people are recognised in our 122-year-old Constitution. A Voice to Parliament is what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want as a form of recognition.
It will ensure the real experts in communities – grassroots First Nations people – can give advice to Parliament and government about the issues that affect their families and communities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have asked for recognition in the form of a Voice to Parliament.
A referendum is needed to change Australia’s Constitution.
The proposed addition to the Constitution:
In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First
Peoples of Australia:
The referendum will ask a very simple question: Should we recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution with a Voice?
A simple question with a simple answer. Yes.
The Voice will be a representative advisory body that gives advice on laws made specifically for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
It will have no power beyond that. This is simply about being heard.