Council of First Nations: New name and renewed aim for Indigenous voice lobby

The fundraising vehicle of Yes23’s unsuccessful campaign for an Indigenous voice has re-emerged with a new name – the Council of First Nations – and is poised to form a membership-based national body.

Arrernte filmmaker Rachel Perkins is chair of the interim board of the Council of First Nations. Picture Matt Turner.

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The fundraising vehicle of Yes23’s unsuccessful campaign for an Indigenous voice has re­emerged with a new name – the Council of First Nations – and is poised to form a membership-based national body for the advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Arrernte filmmaker Rachel Perkins is chair of the interim board of the Council of First Nations as it prepares to “rebuild momentum towards a common purpose of a more just and prosperous future for First Nations people”.

The registered charity – until recently it was called Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition – will host a national gathering of Indigenous organisations and community leaders at Port Douglas, Queensland, in September to consider establishing the national body.

The Australian understands there is enthusiasm for a representative body that would sit outside government with no statutory authority. This body would not need to be a charity but would need to accommodate a broad spectrum of views and build respectful relationships with both sides of politics, The Australian has been told.

Such a body could plan with and advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members, similar in some ways to member organisations such as the National Farmers Federation or Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

Council of First Nations’ chief executive Duane Fraser, a Wulgurukaba-Bidjara leader raised between Tennant Creek and Magnetic Island, said: “By creating a representative body, we can ensure First Nations voices are not only present in every major discussion but are listened to and acted upon”.

“Together we are moving towards a stronger future, respecting the independence of each First Nation but advocating with a unified purpose,” he said.

“Together we will decide our shared strategic priorities, influence government and lead change in areas of national policy that most affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition received $47.5m in donations in the lead-up to the voice referendum on October 14, 2023, according to records published by the Australian Electoral Commission. The donations were tax deductible and underpinned the Yes23 campaign, which outspent the no campaign by a margin of about five to one.

The single biggest donor to Yes23 was the philanthropic Paul Ramsay Foundation, which gave $7m. Other big donors were banks and corporates.

Most members of the Council of First Nations’ interim board did not serve the charity as directors during the voice campaign, when it was called Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition but Perkins and Recon­ciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine were both directors of the charity in 2023, the year of the voice referendum, and continue to serve on the interim board of the renamed Council of First Nations.

Others on the interim board of the council include lawyer Tony McAvoy, a Wirdi man from central Queensland; Jamie Lowe, a Gunditjmara man and chief executive of the National Native Title Council; and Vanessa Kickett, a Noongar woman and chief executive of the land council that struck a landmark settlement with the West Australian government described by some constitutional lawyers as Australia’s first treaty.

“The body would be a meaningful, inclusive, and enduring platform for traditional owners and community representatives across Australia based on the principle of self-determination,” Mr Fraser said. “Its purpose would be determined by the gathering. Unified, we will stand up for our families, communities, lands, skies, waters and resources.”

The Albanese government’s consultations on Indigenous affairs are focused on the Coalition of Peaks, which represents Indigenous corporations that are service providers in the Closing the Gap national agreement. While the work of those service providers is often highly regarded, there has been criticism the Coalition of Peaks is not expert on all matters in Indigenous policy.

The Coalition’s spokeswoman on Indigenous affairs, Kerrynne Liddle, says Labor should not consult the Coalition of Peaks on its Indigenous economic empowerment agenda because it is an organisation that represents mostly government contractors and recipients of government grants. Instead, she has urged Labor to talk to Indigenous businesspeople who have been successful without government assistance.

One of the most famous Indigenous representative bodies in Australia had no statutory authority but ultimately influence. The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders was a non-government organisation that played a leadership role among Indigenous and associated organisations in the 1960s and early ’70s, particularly in campaigning for the 1967 referendum.

The national gathering convened by the Council of First Nations from September 15 to 17 will be open to native title organisations and other First Nations representative organisations with connection to country and cultural authority

The council wants to listen to local and regional First Nations organisations across Australia.

“Just as our peoples have done from time immemorial, traditional owner representative organisations will journey from country, coming together with purpose and respect to decide the courses of action that will shape our future,” Mr Fraser said.