Eastside supports Indigenous Australians’ call for Constitutional recognition and a Voice to Parliament.

What is the Voice referendum?

On October 14, a referendum will be held asking Australian voters a question about an amendment to the Australian Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The Voice would be an independent and permanent body giving advice to the Australian Parliament and Government on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Why we support the Voice

As a community broadcaster, Eastside FM aims to bring people together and amplify community voices – including the voices of First Nations Australians.

We believe the referendum, to be held later this year, is an opportunity for Australia to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of our country, and to honour their unique place in the nation. This will make our Constitution, which was drafted over a century ago with no input from First Nations people, a much more inclusive document.

The referendum will give all of us a chance to be part of history.

Half a century ago, over 90 per cent of Australians voted Yes in the 1967 referendum, giving the Commonwealth Government the power to make laws for Indigenous Australians in the hope of achieving full citizenship.

Ever since then, successive federal governments have made laws and policies for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but First Nations people have had little say in those laws and policies.

Today, too many First Nations people remain at the margins of our society and our democracy. They suffer greater disadvantage than any other group of Australians. Their culture and heritage are too often neglected.

Now, Indigenous Australians are asking us to give them a say. The Voice is a constitutionally guaranteed way for their concerns and insights to be heard at the highest levels of government.

A vote for the Voice is a vote for the full inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in our nation.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart asks us to empower First Nations people, and invites us all to walk with them in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

Eastside FM accepts that invitation.

The Board of Eastside Radio has engaged the work of local artist and owner of Saltwater Dreamtime, Zachary Bennett-Brook to design a special artwork for The Voice. A contemporary artist and Indigenous man of Torres Strait Islander ancestry born and raised on Dharawal Country (Wollongong), Zac has a love for the ocean and creating artworks which represent his surroundings and passions.

What can you do?

Eastside FM believes that our democracy is stronger when everyone participates. That includes First Nations Australians, and it includes all of us.

So get informed, and get ready to vote.

If you are not yet enrolled to vote, you can do so here, and it just takes a few moments. It’s compulsory in Australia for all adult citizens to enrol, and it’s compulsory for everyone to vote in the upcoming referendum.

Here you’ll find all the resources you need to understand what the Voice is about, and to help you make up your mind.

If you want to get active and support the Yes campaign, you can register to volunteer here (link), and you can have conversations with your friends, family, neighbours and colleagues about the Voice and what it means.

KEY LINKS

https://voice.gov.au/

https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/

https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/2023-referendum.htm

https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/pamphlet.htm

GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT

https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/media-and-communication/industry/factlab/debunking-misinformation