Australian Alliance for Animals Supports the Voice to Parliament
The Australian Alliance for Animals supports the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament and the full implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
We believe it is essential that Australians stand together in support of this historic opportunity to advance the interests of First Nations Peoples.
The question we will be asked in the upcoming referendum is whether to alter the Constitution, in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia, to establish a Voice to Parliament. We believe all Australians benefit when the experience of those affected by governmental decisions are heard during the policy-making process.
This principle is at the heart of the Alliance for Animals’ approach to advocacy. The Voice is Australia’s opportunity to change how policies relevant to First Nations Peoples are developed, by helping to ensure decisions affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are no longer made without their involvement. The First Peoples of this land have lived sustainably alongside its animals for over 65,000 years. However, our Constitution has yet to recognise the fundamental role of Indigenous Australians in our society and in understanding and protecting our natural environment.
Recognising this role accords with the vision of the Alliance for Animals for a society where respect for the interests of animals and their wellbeing is enshrined in law, policy and practice. Listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the Voice to Parliament will help drive better and fairer outcomes for First Nations communities, on their terms. Progress in closing the gap will not just benefit the health and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but also the animals they share their lives with.
This referendum is an opportunity for Australia to unite as a nation to respect, value, and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples, communities and cultures. A positive outcome will be a foundational step to transformative change for our society, increasing momentum towards working together on broader social justice issues, including for animal protection. We also recognise that animal welfare organisations have often struggled to meaningfully engage with First Nations Communities, a problem exacerbated by a continuing lack of diversity in our sector which needs to change.
Many of us in the animal protection community were drawn to caring for and about animals through a love of Australia’s natural landscapes and wildlife. When we meet, we routinely recognise the enduring connection of First Nations People to Country and the animals within it. But there is much to continue to learn about that connection and the drawing together of Indigenous representatives through the Voice will help that process. We need genuine reconciliation with First Nations Peoples in order to protect nature in Australia, and deepening our connection with the knowledge generated from 65,000 years of continuous culture can only lead to better outcomes for animals.
The Alliance for Animals supports this once-in-a-generation opportunity to walk a better path as a nation and says Yes to the Voice.
The Alliance for Animals is proud to be a member of the Allies for Uluru Coalition, made up of over 200 civil society organisations that have come together to support the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, starting with the establishment of a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution.