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| Voting yes in voice to parliament referendum an ‘act of patriotism’, Linda Burney says | Voting yes in voice to parliament referendum an ‘act of patriotism’, Linda Burney says |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| Minister to tell National Press Club Indigenous people ‘more likely to have experienced homelessness than to hold an undergraduate degree’ | Minister to tell National Press Club Indigenous people ‘more likely to have experienced homelessness than to hold an undergraduate degree’ |
| Voting yes in the voice to parliament referendum is an “act of patriotism”, with the advisory body to be asked to focus on “new perspectives to old challenges” in health, education, jobs and housing, the Indigenous Australians minister says. | Voting yes in the voice to parliament referendum is an “act of patriotism”, with the advisory body to be asked to focus on “new perspectives to old challenges” in health, education, jobs and housing, the Indigenous Australians minister says. |
| Linda Burney will make a deeply personal speech about the referendum on Wednesday, recounting the death of her friend aged just 44 from serious health problems and saying: “His Aboriginality condemned him to an early death.” | |
| “We have to do things better,” Burney will tell the National Press Club. “I honestly believe the voice can help. | |
| “Voting yes at the referendum will be a vote to unify and strengthen Australia. Voting yes will be an act of patriotism.” | “Voting yes at the referendum will be a vote to unify and strengthen Australia. Voting yes will be an act of patriotism.” |
| Burney’s speech will set a stronger framework around the work and focus of the voice, after questioning from the Coalition about whether the body would weigh in on defence acquisitions or Reserve Bank decisions. | |
| “From day one, the voice will have a full in-tray,” Burney will say, according to an advance copy of her speech. “I will ask the voice to consider four main priority areas: health, education, jobs and housing.” | |
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| The government is expected to emphasise the impact of the voice on developing policies in those core areas in coming weeks, with the education minister, Jason Clare, and the health minister, Mark Butler, to play more prominent roles. | The government is expected to emphasise the impact of the voice on developing policies in those core areas in coming weeks, with the education minister, Jason Clare, and the health minister, Mark Butler, to play more prominent roles. |
| The government says the exact details of the voice, including the members, will be decided in a post-referendum consultation with Indigenous communities. | The government says the exact details of the voice, including the members, will be decided in a post-referendum consultation with Indigenous communities. |
| In her speech, Burney will stress that the voice will be an independent representative body, made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and chosen by local communities. | |
| In her first meeting with the members of the voice, she will ask them to advise on reducing suicides, increasing school attendance and supporting Indigenous families. | |
| “It’s not going to be a passive advisory body. I want it to be active and engaged. We need new perspectives to old challenges.” | |
| Her speech suggests community members would raise issues with their voice representative, who would then relay those concerns and make representations to government and parliament. | |
| “It’s about linking up that local decision making and local knowledge with policymakers in government,” Burney will say. | “It’s about linking up that local decision making and local knowledge with policymakers in government,” Burney will say. |
| The voice would help close the gap faster, she will say, listing a range of outcomes differing greatly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. | |
| “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 55 times more likely to die from rheumatic heart disease than non-Indigenous people. These deaths are completely preventable with access to medical care, proper housing and running water. | |
| “Indigenous young people are 24 times more likely to be locked up than their non-Indigenous neighbours. | “Indigenous young people are 24 times more likely to be locked up than their non-Indigenous neighbours. |
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| “Our people are more likely to have experienced homelessness than to hold an undergraduate degree. In 2020 the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people locked up in a prison cell was four times as many as those who celebrated graduating uni that year. | |
| “This is systemic and structural disadvantage.” | “This is systemic and structural disadvantage.” |
| Burney’s speech will touch on a deeply personal matter, the death of her friend, the photographer Michael Riley. She will recount his life of poverty on the Talbragar Aboriginal reserve in Dubbo, “where basic hygiene was all but impossible and medical care was almost nonexistent”. | |
| “Like so many others who were forced to live in those poor conditions, Michael suffered from chronic infections and got rheumatic fever, a condition from which his immune system never recovered,” Burney will say. | “Like so many others who were forced to live in those poor conditions, Michael suffered from chronic infections and got rheumatic fever, a condition from which his immune system never recovered,” Burney will say. |
| “At the peak of his career at the age of 44, he died of end-stage renal failure. | “At the peak of his career at the age of 44, he died of end-stage renal failure. |
| “I visited him every day in hospital. I watched him go blind in one eye. His Aboriginality condemned him to an early death. A preventable death. | “I visited him every day in hospital. I watched him go blind in one eye. His Aboriginality condemned him to an early death. A preventable death. |
| “I remember being at his bedside with his cousin Lynette when he passed. I remember the injustice of it. And it’s what still motivates me to this day.” | “I remember being at his bedside with his cousin Lynette when he passed. I remember the injustice of it. And it’s what still motivates me to this day.” |
| Responding to questions about why the voice should be enshrined in the constitution, rather than set up via legislation, Burney will say that the government is following the request set out in the Uluru statement from the heart. | Responding to questions about why the voice should be enshrined in the constitution, rather than set up via legislation, Burney will say that the government is following the request set out in the Uluru statement from the heart. |
| “The starting point for reconciliation has to be listening to the wishes of Indigenous people,” she will say. “The starting point cannot be a political fix made in Canberra. That’s not real reconciliation.” | |