Support for community voices to be heard

Media release

  • SWALSC supports the Voice to Parliament

  • Noongar people are encouraged to be informed about the referendum

In the coming months, we will all be asked to vote on whether Australia should change its constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of Australia.

Support for this change will establish a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, to speak to Parliament about issues affecting the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and importantly, empower the voices of communities across Australia.

The South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC) supports the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

SWALSC Chair, Megan Krakouer, said “It is a truth-telling imperative that our ancestors, the First Peoples, preamble this nation's most important legal document, as the First Custodians of this continent, which is thousands of generations long.”

“We are the descendants of the First Peoples, and one in 26 Australians hail from this continent's First Peoples. A community-led approach for our First Peoples is a long overdue summation to this nation's contemporary identity.”

“The successful inclusion of the Voice in the Constitution will be a striking demand by the people of this nation that we, the First Peoples, are always heard.” Megan said.

SWALSC will provide information about the referendum to all its members, so they have the knowledge and background to make an informed decision about voting.

Download the media statement.