Contact Us - The Uluru Statement - From The Heart

Contact Us - The Uluru Statement - From The Heart



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No matter where we come from, we can all agree we need to listen when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians speak from the heart. It’s time we make this change for our shared future.

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The Uluru Statement from the Heart .

We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart:

Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.

How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?

With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country . We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.


ANNIVERSARY OF THE INCLUSION OF ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDERS IN THE WA CONSTITUTION CHANGE



RON’S JOURNEY FROM THE HEART



STUDENTS SHARE THEIR STORIES ABOUT THE ULURU STATEMENT



ANTAR SEA OF HANDS



ULURU STATEMENT


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The Journey to the Uluru Statement .

The Uluru Statement From The Heart (Uluru Statement) represents a historic consensus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in seeking constitutional change to enable a Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.

The journey towards the Uluru Statement has been long and challenging. In 1937, Yorta Yorta elder William Cooper petitioned King George VI calling for representation in parliament.

The Yirrkala Bark Petitions (1963), the Larrakia Petition (1972) and the Barunga Statement (1988) are just some examples of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s efforts to find a fair place in the Australian nation.

Australia is the only country in the world yet to formally recognise its Indigenous people in the form of a treaty or constitutional recognition, unlike our key allies such as Canada and New Zealand.

In 2007, Prime Minister John Howard announced that if he was to win the 2007 Election, within 18 months, he would hold a referendum to change the constitution to recognise the “special status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first peoples of our nation”

In 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard established the Expert Panel on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution, beginning a renewed national focus on finding a path towards a referendum.

This political focus culminated in the establishment of the Referendum Council in 2015 by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.

The Referendum Council built on previous work done by other committees and reports and was tasked with engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on their views on real and meaningful recognition in the Constitution.

The Council established 12 First Nations Regional Dialogues, which engaged over 1200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates on a number of existing proposals for constitutional change.

These Regional Dialogues undertook extensive deliberation of the proposals and culminated in the four-day First Nations National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in May 2017.

The Convention brought together 250 Indigenous representatives from across the country to reach a consensus on the most meaningful and appropriate way to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the Constitution – a Voice to Parliament.

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What does the Uluru Statement mean ?

The Uluru Statement from the Heart (Uluru Statement) represents a historic consensus of Indigenous leaders in seeking constitutional change to recognise First Australians through a Voice to Parliament.

Following the First Nations National Constitutional Convention that brought together 250 Indigenous representatives from across the country, the Uluru Statement was issued on the 26th of May 2017. 

The Uluru Statement is the first time that the matter of constitutional recognition has reached an agreement after years of sometimes heated debate from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The Uluru Statement is an invitation from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to “walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future”. It calls for structural reforms including constitutional change to establish a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution.

The Voice to Parliament will empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to have a say on the laws and policies that impact them. It will be a permanent institution that will provide advice to the Parliament and Government on important issues.

The Uluru Statement is a historic opportunity to reimagine our nation. It is our chance to come together to deliver real change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people so they can take their rightful place in our nation.

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Why is it important ?

Change is needed to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say in the laws and policies that impact on them.

Australia has seen over two centuries of failed policies directed towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; policies created from government without enough engagement from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are directly affected by them.

These policies have often been formed from good intentions but they have not delivered better outcomes.

In 2008, the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments committed to achieving equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health and life expectancy within a generation through the Closing the Gap strategy.

The annual Closing the Gap report tracks progress against seven targets to bridge the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the rest of Australia. These targets are:

To halve the gap in child mortality rates by 2018

To halve the gap for Indigenous children in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (by 2018)

To close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance

To halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

To have 95 percent of Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025

To halve the gap for Indigenous Australians aged 20-24 in Year 12 attainment or equivalent

To close the gap in life expectancy by 2031

In February 2020, the Prime Minister reported that only two targets – early childhood education enrolment and Year 12 attainment – are on track to be met.

The Uluru Statement’s call for a Voice to a Parliament enshrined in the constitution provides a practical path forward to finally address the issues that governments alone have been unable to resolve.

A Voice to Parliament provides the foundation for better outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. They are the ones that have the best understanding of the challenges facing their families and communities. They know the strengths of their communities and what can be achieved when they are involved in designing programs and services meant for them.

A Voice to Parliament will empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, allowing them to take ownership and responsibility for the challenges that they face, and work constructively with governments from any political party to develop the laws and policies needed to Close the Gap.

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From the Heart acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders both past and present. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this website may contain images or names of people who have since passed away.