Australians, it seems, may have the opportunity to enshrine a First Nations Voice to Parliament at a referendum in this term of government. Yesterday’s speech by Ken Wyatt the Minister for Indigenous Australians, is welcome and reflects a commitment to the hard work of grassroots advocacy originating from the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Indigenous lawyer and human rights advocate Teela Reid, who worked on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Credit:Lousie Kennerley.

While Wyatt said he would work towards a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution, he was not explicit about what form that might take – and whether or not it might include the Voice that is demanded overwhelmingly by Indigenous people. Surely that is the only acceptable path. Perhaps Wyatt does need to be more explicit.

Two years after the Uluru Statement invited Australians to “walk with us in a movement of the Australian peoples for a better future”, a genuine people’s movement has been inexorably gathering of everyday Australians who want to redefine and reset the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their fellow citizens.

Enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Constitution would elevate the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the status they deserve as the First Peoples of Australia. It would ensure those voices were heard in order to improve the quality of decisions by Parliament.