News – Page 4 – Unley Uluru Statement from the Heart Support Group

Business titans get behind an Indigenous Voice to parliament

by unley_stv

Article by Anne Hyland for The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 March 2023.

Rachel Perkins, the celebrated Indigenous film director, shares a common fight with some unlikely allies. Among them are some of the nation’s most conservative and influential business people and political powerbrokers. Their fight – one that began almost a century ago with the efforts of many predecessors – is to deliver a message across the country that the Constitution must be changed to recognise Indigenous Australians as the First Peoples of the nation.

NAB, alongside large corporations such as the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, BHP, Rio Tinto, Wesfarmers, Woolworths and Coles, are supporting the Yes campaign. The federal Liberal party, typically considered the party of big business, and its leader Peter Dutton remains divided on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians. Federal Labor supports it.

Faith leaders’ open letter

by unley_stv

Leader’s of Australia’s major religious and ethno-religious organisations have called upon all Federal parliamentarians to support a First Nations’ voice to parliament, called for through the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Commenting on the joint letter, Indigenous film-maker Rachel Perkins, who launched the joint resolution last year, said “This is an alliance of great spiritual power, speaking persuasively to political power, and asking politicians to co-operate across political divides to achieve Indigenous recognition, for the good of my people and the country as a whole.”