In the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples issued an invitation for all Australians ‘to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future’.
The statement followed a historic consensus at a constitutional convention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, to seek to change the Australian Constitution to give First Australians a real voice in our federal parliament.
The focus is on voice, treaty and truth.
We take up the invitation to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
On October 14, Australia is being asked to vote on whether to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament in the Constitution.
BCHS proudly works with our First Nations community and organisations across central Victoria, and expresses our support for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Australian Constitution.
While we recognise our community holds diverse views on this issue, BCHS has a particular focus on addressing the underlying causes of physical and mental health challenges.
For First Nations people, that requires acknowledgement of past and current injustices affecting their quality-of-life outcomes, and the need for them to have a say in the policies that affect them.
The Voice is a practical and evidence-based mechanism to achieve that goal.
The wellbeing of our First Nations People, matters.
And to be well, you must be recognised and heard.
