A national Indigenous voice to parliament is the first step towards a better future as equals

Co-Chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart arrive to address the Victorian Parliament in Melbourne.

As a proud Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, I want to see the Yes vote get up, and I will campaign my hardest to make sure it has the best possible chance at the ballot box.

I do this because I envision a future where First Nations people determine their own futures. We have the knowledge and experience to better our lives. Yet in 2023 we lack the tools to shape the policies that affect our communities, our culture and our lands.

For the past few years I have been a co-chairman of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, the democratically elected voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the journey to treaty. We’ve made great progress.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus react after the introduction of the bill to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

With our second election next month, our mob across the whole state will be invited to choose the people who will negotiate a statewide treaty with the Victorian government.

In Victoria, we are committed to actioning every element of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We have a voice in the assembly. We’ve set up the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first official truth-telling process in Australia, and soon we’ll have treaty.

These are things our people called for, and ones that are being called for right across the nation.

Voice, treaty and truth are all supported by the overwhelming majority of our people. One of the most consistent themes we’ve heard is the need for our people to be involved in the decisions that affect our lives.

For a long time, decisions about our people have been made without consultation from us.

Whereas everyone knows that programs for us work better when they are made with us. The strength of the assembly is drawn from our communities. When you look at our elected members it’s clear to everyone that Peter Dutton’s fearmongering about “elites” and “Canberra bubbles” is rubbish.

Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley address the media in the opposition party room.

Our representatives are from all walks of life and from every corner of the state. The progress we’re making in Victoria will improve the lives our people. The organising principal of this success is creating a system that includes and incorporates our knowledge from the ground up – not from the top.

But these elements from the Uluru statement are not reflected on a national level. The voice is just the first step in a long journey. It will help us build a better future together as equals. The voice doesn’t come from the top, it’s not imposed on us. We’ve been asking for it; it comes from us, by us.

We hear a lot of chatter from politicians and the like about a supposed lack of detail. At face value, the voice to parliament is exactly what it says on the tin: a voice. But what that voice can offer for our people is nearly limitless. We know this is a marathon and not a sprint.

The bill hasn’t even passed yet and we are seeing the constant scare tactics and misinformation spread by the No campaign. Australians deserve better.

Marcus Stewart

We have to approach this debate with integrity and legitimacy, while bringing as many people as possible along for the journey. To vote down the voice is to assume that the past and the present actions inflicted against Indigenous people have been effective, or that we are on the right trajectory. Famously, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

A change in our lives requires a change in the existing systems that have continually failed us.

With a voice, it is not hard to imagine a world in which things such as health, housing and incarceration receive tangible, real and lasting action.

Naturally, there are still pockets of doubt within our own communities. We’ve heard a lot of promises in our time, most of which have turned out to be empty ones. But enshrining a voice in the Constitution guarantees we will always have a seat at the table.

With a voice we can progress the big-picture reforms such as treaty at a national level.

For those who want to see a fairer future, where our voices are valued and respected, I urge you to walk with us and vote Yes to the voice to parliament.

Marcus Stewart is a member of the Referendum Working Group and is co-chairman of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.