Voice to Parliament: CoMHWA asks you to vote “YES”

Dear CoMHWA Members and Supporters,

This coming Saturday, Australians will vote in the Referendum to recognise First Peoples in our Constitution and establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

As CoMHWA members and supporters, you know that where we, people with a lived experience, have a say in the policies, services and supports that affect us, we get better outcomes. We also know that when we have our say that we are not the ultimate decision makers. That is often government departments and service providers. Nonetheless, it is crucial that the impacted voices are heard, so they can be accounted for when striving for positive change.

The same is true for the Voice to Parliament. The Voice will give our First Nations people a say on the policies, services and support that affect them, with the ultimate decision maker being Parliament and government departments. CoMHWA firmly believes that this is a low-risk, high-reward proposal that will add to our collective wellbeing by improving outcomes for First Nations people in areas such as health, mental health, suicide prevention and education for our First Nations people. These are all critical matters that CoMHWA stands for, and our shared values of Partnership, Inclusivity, Kindness, Respect and Courage are each being called to action.

The many decades of inquiries, reports and recommendations have shown us that the current system is not delivering meaningful change. The Closing the Gap reports attest to that. ‘Yes’ opens the door to something new and better. CoMHWA asks you to vote ‘Yes’.

We would urge you to consider this when it comes time to cast your vote this Saturday.

Darren Munday – Chief Executive Officer
Kayla Schembri – Board Chairperson