Gladys gives voice to Uluru support

Gladys Berejiklian has praised the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a reform that can ‘make our nation better’.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: Getty Images

Gladys Berejiklian has praised the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a reform that can “make our nation better”, adding pressure on Scott Morrison to support a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament.

The NSW Premier endorsed the 2017 Uluru statement as she launched a book by Liberal senator Andrew Bragg that argues that the Coalition should cham­pion the push to enshrine a voice in the Constitution.

Ms Berejiklian said there was growing community support for reconciliation, noting that a recent wording change to the ­national anthem did not cause a major backlash.

“There is … a growing mood for change on the issue of reconciliation. Australians comfortably adopted the recent word change to the national anthem and are engaging in discussions we have never had before,” she said in Sydney on Monday at an event hosted by the Australian Catholic University.

Ms Berejiklian said Senator Bragg was correct in calling the Uluru statement the “centrepiece of reconciliation … A vehicle both to address Indigenous disadvantage and make our nation better”.

“Critically, Senator Bragg recognises the need to unite Australians behind reconciliation, irrespective of your views and your politics,” she said.

“This is an issue all of us should be united on. This is crucial when many of the proposed reforms today require constitutional change and a vote by referendum.

“In this context, Senator Bragg advocates enshrining a First ­Nations voice in the Constitution as a way to further incorporate ­Indigenous culture into our ­national life.”

Ms Berejiklian said the 1967 referendum was a “Liberal precedent” for a unifying change to the Constitution, when 90 per cent of voters agreed to include Aboriginal people in the census. “In fact nine out of 10 successful referendums and plebiscites held in Australia have been put forward by Liberal governments,” she said.

The Prime Minister is pursuing a legislated “voice to government” but has ruled out the key recommendation from the Uluru statement, which is to enshrine the proposed Indigenous advisory body into the Constitution.

The panel co-designing the voice to government — led by Marcia Langton and Tom Calma — will give its final recommendation to Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt next month.

Ms Berejiklian endorsement of the Uluru statement comes after South Australian Liberal Premier Steven Marshall last month unveiled plans for a 13-member Indigenous advisory committee that would be similar to a voice at a state level.

Mr Marshall believes the SA plan could ­become a model for a federal voice.

At a Sydney Institute event on Monday, Senator Bragg said the Coalition should support a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament because it was in line with the “patriotic agenda” of centre-right parties.

“The people who drafted the Uluru statement did so asking to be included in the Australian Constitution. They didn’t ask for a separate state, didn’t ask for division,” he said. “The party of patriots should drive this agenda because it is a patriotic agenda.”