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Aurora Education Foundation, GO Foundation and Indigenous Literacy Foundation Support Voice to Parliament

 

AURORA EDUCATION FOUNDATION, GO FOUNDATION, AND INDIGENOUS LITERACY FOUNDATION SUPPORT A VOICE TO PARLIAMENT

The Aurora Education Foundation, GO Foundation, and Indigenous Literacy Foundation are empowering learning through culture for thousands of First Nations children, students, and professionals.

We see first-hand how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities are committed to learning, to community and to leadership in ways that are creating new stories and new pathways for Indigenous success.

We stand together to support the Voice to Parliament. This is a positive and meaningful change to build on a strong foundation and start something even greater – to create a better system where First Nations people can thrive in whatever path they choose.

WHY AURORA EDUCATION FOUNDATION SUPPORTS A VOICE TO PARLIAMENT

At Aurora, we talk about redefining Indigenous education and employment success. We talk about shifting the conversation to one of proud and talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with limitless potential. And we talk about the need for change – change that unravels two centuries of systematic and structural barriers so that our kids can thrive in whatever path they choose. Change that’s informed by Indigenous peoples for Indigenous peoples, because nobody understands what’s best for us more than we do.

As an Indigenous organisation, we need to have these conversations because the laws that govern the continent now known as Australia were developed without its First Peoples. It is a system designed by non-Indigenous people for non-Indigenous people. It is a Constitution that does not recognise the presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before colonisation. This is a chasm in our shared history and an opportunity for reconciliation too long ignored.

We are the oldest living civilisation on earth, with 65,000 years of knowledges, cultures and kinship. Our Elders have sustained our people and this continent for millennia, in ways that are only now being grasped by Western history and science. We are the experts in what’s best for us – we always have been. This is as true for education and employment as it is for every facet of our lives.

A referendum on establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is a fork in the road. It is an opportunity to recognise Indigenous peoples in the history of this continent, and a way to solidify an Indigenous voice on matters that impact us. It is a chance to take steps towards a fuller expression of the history and potential of Australia. It is an opportunity to create significant change.

At Aurora, we support this change. We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. And we support an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

We do not take this position lightly. We know that the proposed Constitutional change through a Voice to Parliament is not perfect. We understand that there is a diversity of views amongst First Peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, and we will continue to encourage respectful discussion and debate. But we believe this is our opportunity to hold the line for generations to come – to learn from the spirit and courage of our Elders, many of whom have long fought for self-determination and Constitutional recognition. This is a starting point for something greater. It is an opportunity for positive, meaningful change.

Our vision is a society in which First Peoples determine their own aspirations through education and lifelong learning, shaping a new future for Australia. A Voice to Parliament will help to get us there.

At Aurora, we support a ‘yes’ vote. We hope you will join us.

If you would like further information on the Referendum, please refer to the below resources:

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