Voice to Parliament and Uluru Statement from the Heart endorsed by Orange City Council

Councillors voted eight votes to four at their December 6 meeting to "promote and support" the 'Yes' campaign in the lead up to next year's national referendum.

The decision followed stirring speeches from Deputy Mayor Cr Gerald Power and Uluru Youth Dialogue member Kishaya Delaney.

"I believe with council's leadership, commitment and accepting to walk with us, we can be part of an incredible moment in history that changes our country for the better," Delaney said.

"By Orange City Council passing this motion they will join a host of other councils that have shown support ... if you're going to talk the talk, it's time to walk the walk."

The upcoming referendum aims to enshrine constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians and establish an advisory body to the federal government on Aboriginal affairs.

The endorsement is largely symbolic and not intended to "tell people how to vote". Staff resources will be engaged to support the campaign but no significant costs are likely.

Deputy mayor, Cr Power - who was not recognised as an Australian citizen when born in 1961 - spearheaded the push.

"I never thought we'd have a chance in my lifetime ... to include us as first nation people in the constitution," Power told the Central Western Daily.

"It will affect all Indigenous people of this amazing nation, including around here in Orange."

No councillor argued directly against a Voice to Parliament. Primary concerns flagged included a lack of information on the motion and a belief local government should not intervene in federal matters.

An amendment from Cr Tony Mileto to defer voting until more information could be provided was backed by Councillors Glenn Floyd, Tammy Greenhalgh, Tony Mileto, Kevin Duffy, and Frances Kinghorne.

The final tally of 'Yes' votes comprised Councillors Gerald Power, Jeff Whitton, Mel McDonell, Steve Peterson, David Mallard, Glenn Floyd, Jack Evans and mayor Jason Hamling.

Council's endorsement follows Nationals Member for Calare Andrew Gee's announcement he would break party ranks to support the 'Yes' campaign.

Cr Power said of the decision: "I [heard] on the news that he's going on it and I thought 'how cool is that?' I really was ecstatic.

"I have been speaking to our federal minister for a while now ... I was looking forward to him actually showing where he stood.

"For Andrew Gee to say 'Nah, I'm actually going to cross the floor' for me as an Indigenous person, I'm so grateful, I'm really so grateful that he's making that decision.

"He's listening to his electorate ... I appreciate him already opening up that he will actually support the 'Yes' vote."

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was formulated by Aboriginal leaders in 2017 (full document attached at bottom of page).

A referendum on constitutional recognition has been promised by the Albanese government before the end of its first term. A vote between May and November, 2023 is likely.

Supporters of the 'Yes' campaign say it will improve Indigenous recognition and provide a direct line of communication between Indigenous people and legislators.

The Nationals are the only major party so far to announce opposition, arguing a Voice would not help Indigenous people in regional areas. It will not actively campaign on the position.

Constitutional change through referendum requires support from an outright majority nationwide, as well as the majority of voters in a majority of states.

Australia has previously held 44 referendums. Only eight were successful. No referendum has passed without bipartisan party support.

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."

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