Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Prime Minister has committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.

It’s been over five years since Indigenous leaders from around Australia convened in Uluru to compose and agree a way forward with the Uluru Statement from the Heart (the Statement).

The Statement calls for structural and constitutional reform to improve the lives of First Nation’s peoples. It calls for Constitutional Recognition, a Voice to Parliament, and Makarrata – Treaty and truth telling.

The Voice to Parliament will allow First Nation’s peoples to provide expert advice and lived experience to policy makers. It will allow First Nation’s peoples to influence policies that impact their communities.

The Statement does not prescribe the shape of a Voice to Parliament, however, it does advocate for the body to be enshrined in the Constitution. Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has committed to holding a referendum during the term of this Parliament. By enshrining the Voice in the Constitution, it would be difficult for a future government to abolish (as the Howard government did to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in 2005), and could only be removed through a second referendum.