Hope is a powerful thing.
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After nearly a decade in Opposition in the Federal Parliament, the team I am proudly a part of has a chance to put in place the First Nations' policies we took to the Australian people.
The hope in hearts around us urges for us to get it right.
NAIDOC week echoes that urgency. Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! The theme celebrates cooperative change, in particular institutional, structural and collaborative change.
On entering the Federal Parliament in 2016 as the Senator for the Northern Territory, my fellow Labor First Nations' colleagues, Senator Pat Dodson and Linda Burney MP and I worked on a number of structural changes in how the Labor Caucus conducted meetings.
The first was to influence change within the Labor Caucus with a blessing and smoking ceremony, followed by Caucus beginning with an Acknowledgement of Country and then the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were placed in the Caucus room.
In terms of decision making and First Nations people having a voice in the process of determining our responses to legislation, we knew that by establishing a First Nations' Caucus Committee (FNCC) we would enable the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be heard.
We also encouraged members of the Labor Caucus who had large Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander constituencies to join the FNCC. The invitation was also extended those who did not have large constituencies but wanted to learn more about our culture and issues.
The proposition for the Voice to Parliament is quite simple: Indigenous people should have a say in the laws and policies that affect their lives and communities.
For the next six years Pat, Linda and I worked with our Labor team to show in practice what we could achieve when we truly do listen and engage with First Nations people on issues impacting us.
Organisations and individuals across Australia felt they too had a chance to have their say to the First Nations Caucus Committee on matters impacting First Nations people. Especially on issues such as Aboriginal deaths in custody, the care and protection of children, family violence, the Community Development Program (CDP), heritage and cultural matters, health and housing.
During the election, we also committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The proposition for the Voice to Parliament is quite simple: Indigenous people should have a say in the laws and policies that affect their lives and communities. The Voice can mean so much for Indigenous communities, including those here in the Northern Territory that are marginalised, but also carry a lot of potential and hope.
A child born in a remote community today already has a lot of the odds stacked up against them. They will have a lower life expectancy, higher burden of disease and fewer opportunities for jobs and a good education.
If we want to sincerely change outcomes for Indigenous people, their voices must be heard.
Having First Nations input in decision-making is one of the best ways to improve practical outcomes.
It's about working with communities, not just for them.
The Voice will go hand in hand with Labor's investment in remote housing, health care, infrastructure, justice initiatives and many other commitments.
First Nations people and communities know the issues affecting them more than anyone else and it's hard to imagine a bureaucrat or politician in the city can say otherwise.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart was the ultimate act of generosity - the offer of a genuine partnership, and a real chance for us to create a reconciled Australia.
Together with my Labor colleagues, our government will move quickly on a referendum to constitutionally enshrine a Voice to Parliament in our first term.
Five years after the Uluru Statement was presented to the Australian people, there should be no more delay.
First Nations' people may Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! this NAIDOC Week, but the message I believe, is to all Australians as well.
- Senator Malarndirri McCarthy is a Yanyuwa woman from the Gulf country in the Northern Territory. She was elected as Senator for the Northern Territory (including Christmas and Cocos Keeling Islands) in August 2016 and again in 2019.