The Society Walks with First Nations Peoples in Support of the Uluru Statement

The Society’s leaders have reaffirmed our support for a First Nations Voice to Parliament, as the Prime Minister asks Australians, “if not now, when?” 

At this year’s NAIDOC Week event, titled Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!, the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW State Council President Paul Burton, and CEO Jack de Groot, unveiled a copy of the Uluru Statement from the Heart they had co-signed with the Chair of the Board, Richard Stewart. The Statement is an invitation from First Nations people across Australia, to non-Indigenous Australians, to walk together for a better future.

The Statement calls for the establishment of a First Nations Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution. It also calls for the establishment of a Makarrata Commission to undertake processes of treaty-making and truth-telling. This agenda is represented in calls for Voice, Treaty, Truth. The Catholic Church officially endorsed the Uluru Statement at the Fifth Plenary Council in July 2022.

The Albanese government has committed to holding a referendum in its first term of office, on enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament in the Constitution. The Society’s Social Justice Team are developing resources to help members, volunteers and employees take action in support of the Statement. You can read more about it here.