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Speaker 1: There has obviously been a lot of talk this week

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory Parliament about well about the Voice

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Speaker 1: to Parliament, and we know that Thomas Mayo is an

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Speaker 1: advocate for the ULARU Statement from the Heart and he's

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Speaker 1: this week actually been in Canberra discussing the Voice with

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Speaker 1: federal politicians. He was also accompanied by fellow Territorians may

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Speaker 1: Mae Morrison and Barb Shaw, and Thomas joins me on

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Speaker 1: the line. Now, good morning, Thomas.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 3: How are you yeah, really good.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning. How did

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Speaker 1: those talks go in Canberra?

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Speaker 2: They're good. We're progressing towards the referendum which will be

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Speaker 2: held later this year. There's a lot of work being

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Speaker 2: done to prepare for it and to make sure that

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Speaker 2: you know, the final amendment to the Constitution that the

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Speaker 2: Australian people will be asked to vote on, and the

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Speaker 2: question and all those things in the best possible shape

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Speaker 2: for us to hopefully succeedest.

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Speaker 1: Thing I hear at the moment, and to be really honest,

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Speaker 1: it's it's sort of my you know, my view as well.

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Speaker 1: I'm really supportive of the Voice, and I guess for

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Speaker 1: me My biggest concerns are just not having a huge

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Speaker 1: level of detail at the moment, but also making sure

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Speaker 1: that you know that if this does move ahead, that

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Speaker 1: we can ensure that places like the Northern Territory, but

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Speaker 1: some of our remote real you know, remote voices and

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Speaker 1: people that do live in communities are going to be

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Speaker 1: genuinely heard.

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Speaker 3: Thomas, you know, what would.

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Speaker 1: You say to people like me and others out there

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Speaker 1: listening that are sort of in the same boat at

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Speaker 1: this point.

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Speaker 2: Well, firstly, you know, thank you for supporting the what

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Speaker 2: we called for in the Lariz Open from the Heart,

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Speaker 2: which was a rare opportunity for our people to come

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Speaker 2: together from across the country to to hopefully, you know,

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Speaker 2: which was to reach a consensus on how we can

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Speaker 2: reconcile Australia's past and make greater steps in closing the gap.

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Speaker 2: The proposal was a voice to Parliament in trying and

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Speaker 2: the Constitution and it is quite a simple thing really.

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Speaker 2: It is the en training the principle that average Montarista

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Speaker 2: and the people should have a say about the decisions

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Speaker 2: that are made about them, and it's a form of

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Speaker 2: constitutional recognition that we've called for the amendment to The

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Speaker 2: constitution is really simple. It just establishes that there should

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Speaker 2: be that voice, you know, the ability to have a say,

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Speaker 2: and that it's not more thann advisory. So it only

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Speaker 2: advises the Parliament. It can't vetover parliament hold up the

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Speaker 2: processes of our democracy. That's all it is. The rest

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Speaker 2: of it is legislated by the Parliament, and you know

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Speaker 2: it's you know, which is the normal process for constitutional.

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Speaker 3: Reform, Thomas.

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Speaker 1: How do we make sure though, when it gets to

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Speaker 1: that point that you know that the Parliament does it?

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Speaker 1: I suppose in the way that we you know, that

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Speaker 1: we want them to, and that the voices of those

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Speaker 1: that are most needing are actually heard. Yes.

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Speaker 2: So there's a number of guiding principles for the design

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Speaker 2: of the Voice that have been released. There's nine at present.

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Speaker 2: They will be expanded on. So you can't put the

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Speaker 2: entire detail before a referendum because those things need to

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Speaker 2: be flexible. So, just like any institution needs to change

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Speaker 2: with the needs of the people with a national interest

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Speaker 2: or to improve the organization, it will be the same

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Speaker 2: with the Voice. The Parliament should ultimately have the power

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Speaker 2: to improve it, as I mentioned, and we elect them

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Speaker 2: and we hold them to account to do a good

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Speaker 2: job at that. So you know, really the referendum is

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Speaker 2: only about entrining the principle, the principle of fairness that

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Speaker 2: Indigenous people should be heard when decisions are made about them,

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Speaker 2: as a form of recognizing our our indigenous heritage and

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Speaker 2: sharing in that indigenous heritage, something that hasn't been done

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Speaker 2: in this country yet. The Constitution has purposely excluded Indigenous people.

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Speaker 2: Until sixty seven, we weren't even counted as Australian citizens.

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Speaker 2: And so you know, that's again it's the normal way

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Speaker 2: that our democracy works and it doesn't change things fundamentally,

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Speaker 2: though it does give greater fairness to Indigenous people.

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Speaker 1: Thomas, I know that yesterday in Parliament I believe it

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Speaker 1: was na Mark Goula has said that there hasn't been

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Speaker 1: enough consultation yet in remote communities.

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Speaker 3: Is there going to be some work in that space.

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Speaker 2: There's been a massive amount of work here and it's

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Speaker 2: a massive country though too, and it takes huge resources

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Speaker 2: to reach everybody, and certainly I think where the resources

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Speaker 2: committed for the referendum. You know in the coming months

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Speaker 2: that everybody is going to have all of the information

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Speaker 2: they need but the the call for a voice to

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Speaker 2: Parliament came from a series of thirteen dialogues that covered

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Speaker 2: the entire country in regional dialogues, and the participants were

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Speaker 2: all Aboriginalaristrate Island of people, and there was a formula

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Speaker 2: to the invitations that ensured that there was a cross

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Speaker 2: across range of our perspectives and experiences and the types

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Speaker 2: of addicts in our communities to ensure it wasn't just

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Speaker 2: the loudest of our people that were heard, but all

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Speaker 2: types of our people. And so that's a very very

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Speaker 2: important factor to talk about here. Sure, not all Indigenous

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Speaker 2: people were involved in it, just like any other decision

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Speaker 2: made in our democracy doesn't involve every single Australian but

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Speaker 2: through a process of proper consultation and formulated, formulated approach

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Speaker 2: and representatives, I think we came to the best possible proposal.

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Speaker 2: And there are indications that a majority of Australian people

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Speaker 2: already support this around sixty percent, and not all Indigenous

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Speaker 2: people support the same thing. We're not homogeneous. We have

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Speaker 2: different views, but around eighty percent of Indigenous people support

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Speaker 2: this change as well.

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Speaker 1: Thomas, I know that it has the points been raised

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Speaker 1: a few times over the last few days and probably

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Speaker 1: before then, that there are a number of indigenous organizations already.

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Speaker 1: Let's you know, let's use the Northern Territory as an example,

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Speaker 1: and we have really strong representation from Indigenous politicians, particularly

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory in Federal Parliament.

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Speaker 3: Some people questioning, is that not enough?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I heard Keisha Kurrik talk about that yesterday. It

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Speaker 2: is true there are many different indigenous organizations, but they

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Speaker 2: have their own remit you know, they have their specialties

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Speaker 2: that they work on. For example, land councils are concerned

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Speaker 2: with land use and matters to do traditional lands, you know.

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Speaker 2: The peak organizations look after health or education, you know,

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Speaker 2: so they have very important roles, you know, legal services.

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Speaker 2: But what we're talking about here is a political representative

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Speaker 2: body because the most practical thing that we can do

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Speaker 2: to close the gap, one of the most practical things

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Speaker 2: and actually a vital key to resolving the issues in

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Speaker 2: this community and also addressing the social issues that lead

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Speaker 2: to crime and alcoholism, is to have a consistent approach

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Speaker 2: to the way that policies and laws are made in

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Speaker 2: this country. And a voice to Parliament would do that.

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Speaker 2: It would still it would still be important all those

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Speaker 2: other organizations, but they would advise and support the Voice

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Speaker 2: to be able to give consistent and coherent advice to

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Speaker 2: the Parliament. If that's why people say, if there was

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Speaker 2: this in place already, it would be a different situation

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Speaker 2: in other springs, because we have this cycle in politics

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Speaker 2: where a change of government or a change of leader

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Speaker 2: means the change of policies and programs, and that really

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Speaker 2: detrimentally affects the way that we're able to heal the

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Speaker 2: traumas in our communities and the legacy of mistakes in

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Speaker 2: the past. So we'll also make a big.

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Speaker 1: Difference, Thomas, I know that you know that afterwards has

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Speaker 1: obviously happened with the situation in Alice Springs. There's also

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Speaker 1: been that discussion that some of our you know, some

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Speaker 1: of our really strong Indigenous voices weren't actually being heard

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Speaker 1: by the government.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the Voice will make a big difference.

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Speaker 2: So let's think about the way that the alcohol laws recently,

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Speaker 2: you know, changed and the issues that came out of that.

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Speaker 2: If there was a representative body for Indigenous people where

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Speaker 2: we were able to choose representatives from our community and

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Speaker 2: with the resources and ability to come together and work

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Speaker 2: out what the best advice to the government would have

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Speaker 2: been about how to you know, because the laws are

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Speaker 2: sunset it right, that's why there was change, But we

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Speaker 2: could have been ahead of it and it wouldn't have

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Speaker 2: been a last minute panic. You see, governments, politicians, people

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Speaker 2: in the broader electorates have different priorities. They have other

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Speaker 2: things that they need to priorities that come up, and

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Speaker 2: an Indigenous voice can work on our priorities and simply

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Speaker 2: help the government to get things right before they make

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Speaker 2: the mistakes that often happen. I've voice would be a

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Speaker 2: major factor in better policy and laws. That is a

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Speaker 2: major factor then on what happens on the ground and

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Speaker 2: the way that our communities are able to live.

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Speaker 1: Thomas, before I let you go, and I am keen

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Speaker 1: to stay in contact and speak to you again throughout

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Speaker 1: the year as the campaign continues on.

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Speaker 3: But before I let you.

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Speaker 1: Go, I do want to ask, do you worry that

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Speaker 1: you know that as this campaign ticks along, that it's

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Speaker 1: going to see division within the country.

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Speaker 2: I think that this is a unifying reform. I think

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Speaker 2: that it's time that we recognize our indigenous culture and

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Speaker 2: heritage I think it's time to, you know, for our

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Speaker 2: children to no longer be burdened by our colonial past

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Speaker 2: and you know the legacy of failed policies and harmful laws.

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Speaker 2: I know that this is going to be tough. I

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Speaker 2: know that there are going to be people that are

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Speaker 2: going to try and divide the community over this. But

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Speaker 2: as I said, it's a simple uniting reform that we

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Speaker 2: should recognize Indigenous people with the fairness of a voice

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Speaker 2: to give advice about the decisions that are made about us.

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Speaker 3: That's all it is, Thomas May.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very

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Speaker 1: much for taking the time to have a chat with us.

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Speaker 1: And like I said, I'm keen to stay in contact

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Speaker 1: and try to get some pretty regular updates if you're

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Speaker 1: happy to do that as well.

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Speaker 2: Thanks lot, Katie, I'd love that.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, thanks for your time.

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Speaker 1: This more than