The Voice to Parliament Handbook

All the Detail You Need

Thomas Mayo, Kerry O'Brien, Cathy Wilcox

• Publisher: Hardie Grant Explore
• Year: 2023
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781761440366
• Subtopic: Constitutions
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The Voice to Parliament Handbook is an easy-to-follow guide for the millions of Australians who have expressed support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but want to better understand what a Voice to Parliament actually means.

'We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.' These words from the Uluru Statement from the Heart are a heartfelt invitation from First Nations People to fellow Australians, who will have the opportunity to respond when the Voice referendum is put to a national vote by the Albanese Government.
 
Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and acclaimed journalist Kerry O’Brien have written this handbook to answer the most commonly asked questions about why the Voice should be enshrined in the Constitution, and how it might function to improve policies affecting Indigenous communities, and genuinely close the gap on inequalities at the most basic level of human dignity.
 
A handy tool for people inclined to support a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, The Voice to Parliament Handbook reflects on this historic opportunity for genuine reconciliation, to right the wrongs and heal the ruptured soul of a nation. This guide offers simple explanations, useful anecdotes, historic analogies and visual representations, so you can share it among friends, family and community networks in the build-up to the referendum.
 
If the ‘yes’ vote is successful this book will also become a keepsake of an important and emotional milestone in Australia's history.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• The Uluṟu Statement from the Heart
• The creation of the Uluṟu Statement from the Heart
• What the Voice means to me
• What the Voice means to me
• 1. Introducing the Voice to Parliament
• 2. The history of struggle for an effective Voice
• 3. The Voice is about who we are as Australians
• 4. What is a referendum?
• 5. Why vote ‘Yes’ and other frequently asked questions
• 6. How the Voice can help to close the gap
• 7. How you can help
• Endnotes
• Further reading
• Appendix 1. Referendum Working Group
• Appendix 2. Referendum Engagement Group
• About the authors