Dorinda Cox: we need you to join the movement for Truth and Justice

By SENATOR DORINDA COX

Today is a year on from the Voice referendum –  a result that drove a huge wedge into the race relations in Australia.

As an elected Federal Senator for WA, I was one of the many members of parliament who spent most of 2023 traveling around the country supporting recognition of Australia’s First People and the formation of a national voice body to be included in the constitution.

For the record, I have been a supporter of the Uluru Statement before becoming a politician and continue to work to ensure we reach its full implementation.

I also want to recognise that not everyone supports this pathway to justice, including some in my party that had a different position than mine.

I pay my respects to the Co-chairs Professor Megan Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson AO whose inspiring leadership as matriarchs in this country allowed our mob to be the leading news stories for months in mainstream news outlets.

Many other State and Federal MPs who were part of the YES campaign and our First Nations leaders. It was inspiring and moving at times to witness the new and emerging young leaders who stood up and continue to find strength to carry on with this work.

I remember sitting in front of the TV on the night of the count, after months of campaigning and feeling exhausted. My daughters watched my face register how quickly the NO result came about.

I felt defeated and upset for our people and their journey to this point. I had been a member of the Referendum Bill Select committee and toured the country listening to support for the changes which translated to 6.5 million people voting YES.

In days following the result I had to return back to the nation’s parliament for a sitting fortnight. I felt the overwhelming sadness, disappointment and hollowness that everything that was campaigned for over a decade, the work of the Uluru Dialogues and the bipartisan work done, was undermined by the phrase – “If you don’t know, vote NO.”

From a political standpoint, campaigning for a YES result meant that we would have finally been recognised – seen – and that our culture, language, people and connection is as ancient as the land would be finally in the nations founding document.

At the most practical level the Voice would have been able to consult with me as a politician, advising the parliament on the durability of the policies and legislation that can withstand political cycles. This is important because what works in Balga might not work in Townsville or Warburton or Hobart. The voice is not a unique structure and some of the most progressive democracies in the world already have an equivalent like the Sami Parliament.

Politics is a sterile place at the best of times cloaked in protocols and hierarchies, but little to no acknowledgement of our existence except a few paintings tucked in the public galleries, the acknowledgement of country at the start of the day and our flags in some strategically placed corners.

From my point of view we deserve more for the endurance of First peoples who have suffered and lost so much, shown our active resistance and most of all our unwavering resilience and pride to stand in our power.

These are the reasons why I co-sponsored a Private Senators Bill with my colleague Senator David Shoebridge for establishment of Australia’s first Federal Truth and Justice Commission, named in the Uluru Statement of the Heart as Makarrata, that would do truth telling and agreement making.

The Greens will continue to fight for a process to share and listen to the experiences and history of this nation told by First Peoples and to create a vision for a truly reconciled Australia.

Truth telling and listening will enable us to reconcile and respect our important three chapters. Recognition and bearing witness are powerful tools. We need to collectively share and formally record First Nations peoples experiences, and use these to create practical solutions that can stop us making the same mistakes through our laws and policies.

Our learnings will prevent the structural racism and disadvantage from becoming key design features. Ultimately we need to challenge ourselves to be a better nation, one that is fair and equal.

Today’s anniversary brings much commentary, like after a debate in politics the chair of the chamber says “is a division required?” The answer must simply be NO, like the bells of the parliament that echo through the hallways of political power – for us they ring as a reminder.

A cold and stark reminder that the results of this chapter are done and there were no real winners. The gap is widening, division on race has been reported to be the worst some have ever seen and our people are still hurting and in limbo.

Now is not the time for any more broken promises to the Australian people as we head to another election. Federal Labor can use the pathway of the Truth and Justice Bill, with the majority they hold in the House of Representatives and with assistance of its most progressive Senate crossbench including the Greens to stand on the right side of history to finish the job.

Just like the last line in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, we need you to join the movement for Truth and Justice – now is the time to make it right!

“We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”

Dorinda Cox is the Senator for WA, Yamatji Noongar Woman and Spokesperson for the First Nations for the Australian Greens