This week on Let’s Talk…Referendum, we’re digging into some of the tough questions that have come up so far in this series with Wiradjuri woman, Labor Member for Barton, and the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney.
Linda was the first Aboriginal person elected to the NSW Parliament, and the first Aboriginal woman to serve in the House of Representatives. She was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese in May 2022, with the “important task of implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including responsibility for a referendum to establish a First Nations Voice to Parliament.”
During her First Speech to Parliament, Linda stated: “I was born at a time when the Australian Government knew how many sheep there were but not how many Aboriginal people. I was 10 years old before the 1967 referendum fixed that.”
In this conversation, we learn from Minister Burney about what role she sees the upcoming referendum serving in the broader struggle for Indigenous justice and self-determination. And we look for some clear answers to the questions that mob around the country are asking: about the power of the proposed Voice to Parliament, and its limitations.
