Voice of Reason

On Recognition and Renewal: Quarterly Essay #90

Megan Davis

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English

Black Inc
19 June 2023

Indigenous peoples; Elections & referenda; Political control & freedoms; Australian Society

Series: Quarterly Essay

Why a First Nations' Voice to Parliament is a 'constitutional moment' that offers a new vision of Australia

At Uluru, an invitation was issued to the Australian people. With the upcoming referendum, the nation will decide whether to accept that invitation. In this compelling, fresh and imaginative essay, Megan Davis draws out the significance and the promise of this "constitutional moment" - what it could mean for recognition and justice.

In Voice of Reason, Davis presents the Voice to Parliament as an Australian solution to an Australian problem. For Indigenous people, it is a practical response to "the torment of powerlessness". She highlights the failure of past policies - in areas from child protection to closing the gap - and the urgent need for change. She also brings out the creative and imaginative dimensions of the Voice. Fundamental to her account is the importance of truly listening. In explaining why the Voice is needed from the ground up, she evokes a new vision of Country and community.

"When people say this is about changing Australian identity, it's not. It's about location; we are located here together; we are born here, we arrive here, we die here and we must coexist in a peaceful way. The fundamental message that many elders planted in the Uluru Statement is that... the country needs peace and the country cannot be at peace until we meet; the Uluru Statement is the beginning of that." Megan Davis

By: Megan Davis
Imprint: Black Inc
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 168mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 166g
ISBN: 9781760644215
ISBN 10: 1760644218
Series: Quarterly Essay
Pages: 167
Publication Date: 19 June 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Megan Davis is Professor of Constitutional Law at UNSW, a global Indigenous rights expert on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a former chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She was the first person to read out the Uluru Statement from the Heart, at Uluru in May 2017.