Momentum builds on the back of Uluru Statement to finally give First Nations people a voice

Does the Uluru Statement have anything to do with native title? Will it create a third house of parliament? USQ’s elder-in-residence has cleared up several misconceptions over potential constitutional recognition for First Nations people.

Uncle Wayne Fossey at Gumbi Gumbi Gardens

Uncle Wayne Fossey was 17 when First Nations people were counted as part of the Australian population in the constitution following the landmark 1967 referendum.

Now aged 72, the proud Gurang Gurang and Yugambeh man and Elder-in-Residence at the University of Southern Queensland hopes to see another referendum on the back of a change of government and the now-famous Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The statement, which was created in 2017 by consensus of 250 First Nations representatives, hopes to enshrine a First Nations voice in the constitution and cement indigenous people legally as the original custodians of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands.

New Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to honour the Uluru Statement in full.

Uncle Wayne, whose immediate family spent decades in the Darling Downs, said he hoped the change of federal government would continue the momentum but noted any push would require significant education on the matter.

Firstly, he said the proposal had nothing to do with native title and also granted indigenous people no special property rights.

Uncle Wayne also said it would not create a third house of parliament, as politicians like former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce have suggested.

“Toowoomba people think it’s about native title, but it’s got nothing to do with that,” he said.

“It’s important for people to realise this is an Australia-wide thing, and I’ve been having that discussion with people.

“I get pushback on everything I do, people say that we’re going to take their property, which is just ridiculous.

“People need to be educated, you can’t expect people to just walk up to a booth and vote to change the constitution.”

Uncle Wayne said the process would involve a significant amount of “truth-telling” about Australia’s history.

“We have not previously been recognised under the law, we were invaded and Terra Nullius was used in terms of legality to justify it,” he said.

People need to look at the Makarrata statement and on where the discussion has come from.”

For more information, head to www.ulurustatement.org.

Originally published as Momentum builds on the back of Uluru Statement to finally give First Nations people a voice