Open Letter from the disability community for a Voice to Parliament. 

We write this letter to people across Australia.

We are your neighbours, friends, family and colleagues. We represent more than 20% of the population and together as a disability community, we unite in support of a First Nations Voice to Parliament. We believe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples know their communities best and can guide the answers that will enable us to celebrate and assure the continuation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture long into the future.

For too long, our systems and policies have been designed and built by Governments that do not, and cannot in their current form, understand the genuine solutions needed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This we deeply understand.

Our disability community knows firsthand the many shared experiences of exclusion and our ongoing calls to restore our rights for self-determination.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have shared their culture, spirit, love and deep knowledge of this country. Now is the time for us to extend our appreciation for the opportunity to share this rich and wonderful history by writing YES and ending a status quo that has served no one.

If you vote YES, you are saying you believe there should be an Advisory body called the VOICE that will guide the Australian Government about matters that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The people who give the guidance to the Government will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people selected by their communities across the country.

There is nothing to fear and so much to gain.

We embrace the generous invitation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year, we unite to Vote from the Heart in support of a First Nations Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution.

Peak and Advocates

Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Inclusion Australia, Blind Citizens Australia, National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum

Supported by

Life Without Barriers, The Disability Trust, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Yooralla, Achieve Australia, Rise, The Benevolent Society, Somerville, Avivo, Minda.