With compassion in our hearts, Caritas Australia embraces and supports the creation of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
The Voice
Faith Community Support for First Nations Voice to Parliament
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council and the Referendum
At the heart of the upcoming Voice to Parliament Referendum is the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, the world’s oldest continuing culture, in the Australian Constitution. As Catholics, we have a responsibility to listen to the voices of First Australians and to work towards a more just and equitable society.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry support YES Vote
Elected Councillors of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the peak representative body of the Australian Jewish community, have voted overwhelmingly to support a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum to decide whether to alter the Australian Constitution to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to make representations to Parliament and the Executive Government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane: A Pastoral Statement on the Referendum
Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane has written a Pastoral Statement on the Referendum. In response to the announcement of the referendum date, Archbishop Coleridge writes, “In response, we need first to see the truth of the suffering of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the disadvantage many experience today as a result. Justice demands that we seek to rectify this disadvantage and its consequences.”
Uniting Church Support for the Voice
The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly and the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) welcome the launch of the campaign to vote Yes in the Referendum which seeks the support of the Australian people for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice.
“We support the Yes vote for the Voice as a pivotal step toward the full implementation of the Uluru Statement, so that as a nation we can finally confront the truth of our past and present and make way for justice.”
Catholic statement on Indigenous Voice to Parliament
As a vote on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament nears, Australia’s bishops have encouraged Catholics to read and discuss the Uluru Statement from the Heart – the document from which the Voice proposal emerged. The annual Social Justice Statement speaks about the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australian society.
Nothing here is what it once was
This year, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum to give our first nations people a Voice to Parliament. This will create constitutional change to give aboriginal people an advisory role in matters which affect them.
The Buddhist Council of NSW is playing a leading role in the Buddhist community to help inform our diverse member organisations about the referendum process and why it matters.
The Voice to Parliament came out of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which set out the reasons for enshrining a first nations voice in our constitution. Following this statement, in 2023, a series of essays from religious leaders was collected in a book, Statements from the Soul: The Moral Case for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, to lay out the moral case for constitutional change. The Buddhist perspective was provided by Sydney based monk, Bhante Sujato, reproduced below.
Read all the essays in the book Statements from the Soul: The Moral Case for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, edited by Shireen Morris and Damien Freeman, La Trobe University Press, 2023.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Voice to Parliament
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry – ECAJ, the peak national representative body of the Australian Jewish community, is delighted to invite you to an enlightening presentation and Q&A virtual session with Noel Pearson, as we delve into the significant topic of The Voice referendum in Australia on the evening of Wednesday 6 September 2023.
Anglican Bishop of Bunbury apologises to Noongar people for ‘past pain and suffering’
The Anglican Bishop of Bunbury said the church failed to challenge unjust government policies towards Aboriginal people.
Bishop Ian Coutts acknowledged Anglicans likely took part in massacres at Pinjarra in 1834 and Pinjarra in 1841.
Indigenous elder and pastor Dennis Jetta has thanked the Bishop for his apology.
Rev. Tim Costello and the Voice to Parliament
Rev. Tim Costello urges Australian Church pastors to courage as our nation approaches an important milestone in its history. Tim Costello tells, We are voting in a referendum, not a partisan election. This referendum was requested by an overwhelming majority of Indigenous leaders.
