A key figure in the Voice to Parliament movement has urged the government to support the Australian Greens’ Makarrata bill, which the party intends to introduce to parliament this week.
The bill would facilitate the establishment of a truth and justice commission, in line with one of the pillars of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
since the defeat at referendum of the Voice in October last year.
Alyawarre Elder Pat Anderson AO, an architect of the Voice to Parliament campaign, called on the Albanese government not to let truth and treaty languish.
“It has been nine months since the referendum and there needs to be forward momentum,” she said in her first comments since the Voice’s defeat.
“Our people are hurting from the silence, and there needs to be leadership.
“Nothing has changed since October 14. Change is needed. Change is urgent.”
Greens say they will work with government
In flagging his party’s intentions, leader Adam Bandt said the government had “failed to offer any pathway forward” in First Nations affairs since the country voted against the Voice.
Nonetheless, West Australian Greens senator Dorinda Cox said she was hopeful the two parties could work together to make the bill law.
“We have been waiting for the opportunity to not just tell our truths but to have Australia deeply listen to our experiences, past and present, as the oldest living culture in the world,” the Noongar-Yamatji woman said on Sunday.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney on Saturday said funding for the commission was still in the budget.
“The government has been very clear, and I have been very clear, that we will take our time to make sure we get this right,” she told reporters.
She said the government was spending billions of dollars on housing, education and jobs for Indigenous Australians and noted that truth-telling was happening at a local and state level and in the community.
“In my view, the process of truth-telling in this country is well and truly underway and it has been underway for a very long time,” she said.