A Labor backbencher is calling on the ACT Legislative Assembly to endorse the Uluru Statement of the Heart.

Member for Murrumbidgee, Dr Marisa Paterson, will introduce a motion tomorrow (November 23) asking for support for the First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum campaign, and the Uluru Statement of the Heart.

Dr Marisa Paterson said: “Enshrining the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution will ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are always a part of conversations about issues that affect them.

“It will also start an important process of truth-telling and treaty making.

“You simply cannot make a practical difference without having First Nation peoples at the forefront of conversation, otherwise you are simply repeating historical injustices.”

In support of Dr Paterson’s motion, Aboriginal elder, Aunty Violet Sheridan said:

“My community and First Nations people across Australia have been fighting our whole lives for the recognition and respect of the
spiritual and physical relationship between our people and land we stand on.

“Enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Constitution and coming together for truth-telling is vitally important to empower my people and return the power
over our own destiny that we lost with colonisation.”