Today marks the beginning of Reconciliation week, a yearly reminder of the effort needed still to bridge the gap between black and white Australians and to recognise First Nations people and their connection to the land.

Central to that journey is the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which yesterday was declared the winner of the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize.

Guests:
Professor Megan Davis, constitutional expert
Pat Anderson, health advocate; ACT Australian of the Year
Noel Pearson, activist and leader

Producers:

Fran Kelly, Marina Freri

Listen to the program

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Watch the interview on news.com.au

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The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been awarded the Sydney Peace Prize, four years after it was delivered to the Australian people.

The landmark statement – an agreement of 250 Indigenous delegates that calls for a constitutionally-enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament – was issued to Australians on 26 May, 2017.

The prize was revealed on Wednesday, with the jury saying the statement brought “together Australia’s First Nations Peoples around a clear and comprehensive agenda for healing and peace within our nation”.

“The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a powerful and historic offering of peace,” Sydney Peace Foundation chair, Archie Law, said in a media release.

The Uluru statement provides a roadmap for recognising First Nations in Australia’s constitution, proposing structural reform on three fronts: Voice, Treaty and Truth.

University of New South Wales Professor of Law and Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis, who worked with Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson to help deliver the statement, said the prize was tribute “to the men and women of the dialogues who crafted a roadmap to peace for the nation”.

“The Uluru Statement was the culmination of a dialogue process designed to take agreement and disagreement and elicit a pathway forward on the vital question of recognition,” she said in a UNSW media release.

Professor Davis, Ms Anderson and Mr Pearson were to acknowledge the announcement in a ceremony on Wednesday before formally receiving the prize – Australia’s only international prize for peace – at a formal event later in the year.

Ms Anderson, an Alyawarre woman and chair of the Lowitja Institute, said the statement was “an invitation to the Australian people to walk with us First Nations people to compel the politicians we elect to seek change and not be afraid of change”.

Guugu Yimidhirr man Mr Pearson said that while Australia’s First Nations peoples remained unrecognised, the country was “missing its most vital heart”. 

“The Uluru Statement was the answer to the Commonwealth’s desire to recognise First Nations in the Constitution,” Mr Pearson said in the UNSW release.

“The evidence four years later is overwhelmingly that Australians will support giving us a Voice. It’s time.” 

‘We cannot lose this opportunity’

Advocates have called for action as they marked the statement’s fourth anniversary, which also coincides with National Sorry Day, saying the campaign for a constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament was “stronger than ever”.

The government has been consulting on proposals for the design of a Voice as part of a co-design process. The From the Heart campaign on Wednesday said that as consultations draw to a close and a final report is prepared, the government should outline a pathway forward for a referendum on the matter.

“With over 80 per cent of public submissions to the co-design consultation process supporting a constitutionally-enshrined Voice, the Australian people are saying it is now time to put the Voice to a referendum,” From the Heart director Dean Parkin said in a statement.

He said that if a Voice was simply legislated rather than constitutionally protected, it would be “another example of decision-makers dismissing the people and imposing a top-down solution that nobody wants”.

Professor Davis also said that Australians “should be given the chance to change the nation through a referendum”.

In another UNSW article on Wednesday, she said a legislated Voice to Parliament would be “beholden to the whim of the government”.

She said there was “too much at stake for anything less” than a constitutionally-protected Voice “that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say in the laws and policies that impact our lives”.

“It’s their voices that need to be heard, empowered and protected. We cannot lose this opportunity for enduring and meaningful change that will impact the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the country,” Professor Davis said.

SBS News has contacted Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt for comment.

He has previously stressed that the framework for a Voice would ensure Indigenous voices were heard even if it was done through legislation.

The government promised a referendum on constitutional recognition back in 2019. Mr Wyatt has since said this is unlikely to take place this parliamentary term, saying “constitutional recognition is too important [to] rush and too important to fail”. 

This article was written by By Jodie Stephens and first appeared in SBS News on 26 May 2021

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Proud First Nations leaders and drivers of the Uluru Statement, Professor Megan Davis, a Cobble Cobble woman from the Barunggam Nation in South East Queensland; Pat Anderson AO, an Alyawarre woman from the Northern Territory; and Noel Pearson, a Guugu Yimidhirr man from Hopevale on the Cape York Peninsula, jointly welcomed the announcement and will receive the prize together at an official event later in the year.

Delivered in May 2017 at the National Constitutional Convention, the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a ‘historic offering of peace’ that calls for the establishment of a ‘First Nations Voice’ in the Australian Constitution.

Professor Davis, Ms Anderson and Mr Pearson worked tirelessly to deliver the statement in 2017 and have spent the past four years leading the campaign for a referendum to change the constitution. The announcement of their win coincides with National Sorry Day, and marks four years since the Uluru Statement was originally endorsed by First Nations people from across Australia.

“The Uluru Statement was the culmination of a dialogue process designed to take agreement and disagreement and elicit a pathway forward on the vital question of recognition,” Professor Davis said.

“This is a tribute to the men and women of the dialogues who crafted a roadmap to peace for the nation. We are accepting this prize on behalf of all of the First Nations that participated in the Uluru Dialogues and the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in 2017.”

As long as First Nations peoples remain unrecognised, then Australia is missing its most vital heart – Noel Pearson

The Sydney Peace Foundation at the University of Sydney chose the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a stand-out winner from over 200 community nominations, for its dedication to bringing Australia’s First Nations people together around a ‘clear and comprehensive agenda’ for healing and peace.

“The Uluru Statement was issued as an invitation to the Australian people to walk with us First Nations people, and to compel the politicians we elect to embrace change and not be afraid of change. As Australians we walked together once before, in 1967, and it was the highest ‘yes’ vote in Australian constitutional history. We are going to have another run at it,” Ms Anderson said.

“As long as First Nations peoples remain unrecognised, then Australia is missing its most vital heart,” Mr Pearson said, emphasising the need for Australian people from across government, business and the community to come together behind this pathway to peace. “The Uluru Statement was the answer to the Commonwealth’s desire to recognise First Nations in the Constitution. The evidence four years later is overwhelmingly that Australians will support giving us a voice. It’s time.”

Archie Law, Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation, said: “The Uluru Statement is a landmark consensus document authored by the First Nations people of Australia through multiple regional dialogues and the First National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in May 2017. It’s now up to all of us to make its vision a reality.”

The Sydney Peace Prize recognises leading global voices that promote peace, justice, and nonviolence. Former winners include Patrick Dodson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Arundhati Roy, Mary Robinson, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the Black Lives Matter Global Network, and the #MeToo Movement.

For over two decades, the Sydney Peace Prize has been awarded in partnership with the City of Sydney.

This article was written by Tess Gibney and first appeared in Sydney University News & Opinion on 26 May.

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The Sydney Peace Foundation at the University of Sydney chose the Uluru Statement from the Heart as the winner of the prize from over 200 nominations, noting the document is a “clear and comprehensive agenda” for healing and peace.

Delivered in 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart recommended enshrining a First Nations Voice in the constitution, and a Makarrata Commission to supervise agreement-making between the government and First Nations and truth-telling. As yet, the government has chosen not to implement these recommendations from the Uluru Statement.

The Sydney Peace Prize said the Uluru Statement from the Heart is an ‘historic offering of peace’.

On Wednesday, coinciding with National Sorry Day, Professor Megan Davis, Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson accepted the peace award on behalf of those who worked on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. They have spent the past four years, since the delivery of the statement, leading the campaign for a referendum to change Australia’s constitution.

Professor Megan Davis (left) called it a “roadmap to peace for the nation”.

“The Uluru Statement was the culmination of a dialogue process designed to take agreement and disagreement and elicit a pathway forward on the vital question of recognition,” Professor Megan Davis said.

“This is a tribute to the men and women of the dialogues who crafted a roadmap to peace for the nation. We are accepting this prize on behalf of all of the First Nations that participated in the Uluru Dialogues and the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in 2017.”

Pat Anderson said the statement was issued as an “invitation to the Australian people to walk with us First Nations people” and to “compel the politicians we elect to embrace change”.

“As Australians we walked together once before, in 1967, and it was the highest ‘yes’ vote in Australian constitutional history. We are going to have another run at it,” Anderson said.

Noel Pearson said it is the answer to the Commonwealth’s desire to recognise First Nations in the Constitution.

“The evidence four years later is overwhelmingly that Australians will support giving us a voice. It’s time,” he said.

Past winners of the Sydney Peace Prize include the #MeToo Movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Patrick Dodson, Naomi Klein, and Noam Chomsky.

Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation Archie Law said the Uluru Statement is a “landmark consensus document”.

“It’s now up to all of us to make its vision a reality,” Law said.

This article was written by Madeline Hislop and first appeared in Women’s Agenda on 27 May.

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Four years after it was written, judges says the ‘powerful and historic offering of peace’ offers a clear agenda for healing in Australia, and ‘it is now up to us all to make its vision a reality’

The Uluru Statement from the Heart has been awarded the Sydney peace prize for 2021 four years after it was written, with organisers saying time is up for the government to take action on the landmark statement.

The judging panel said the Uluru statement was a “powerful and historic offering of peace” that was crucial to the “healing within our nation”, but had not yet been acted upon.

First presented to the Australian people in May 2017, the statement made two recommendations: a constitutionally recognised Indigenous voice to parliament, and a Makarrata process to investigate truth-telling and treaty-making. Neither have been implemented or, in the case of the voice, put to a referendum.

On Wednesday, First Nations leaders Pat Anderson, Prof Megan Davis and Noel Pearson accepted the award on behalf of everyone who worked on the statement, which was the result of years of consultation with thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Anderson, an Alyawarre woman from the Northern Territory, told Guardian Australia she was “incredulous” when she found out the statement had won, and that the award was for the group, not individuals.

“It’s a fantastic, amazingly wonderful thing to receive,” she said. “Noel, Megan and I are receiving it on behalf of all of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who attended the regional dialogues four years ago. It’s all their thinking. It’s all their work.”

Anderson said she hoped the award would bring more awareness to the 439-word statement, which she urged every Australian to read.“We meaningfully and consciously gave the Uluru Statement from the Heart as a gift to the to the Australian people,” she said. “It’s a gift of healing. And indeed love. We don’t often like to use that word. But, you know, it’s a very, very emotional document.”

Past winners of the Sydney peace prize include the Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement, Patrick Dodson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, John Pilger, Noam Chomsky and Arundhati Roy.

Wednesday’s award coincided with national Sorry Day, and the day in 2017 when the Uluru statement was first released.

Anderson said the award would hopefully “provide a lot of energy to the national conversation that we still need to have”.

“Malcolm Turnbull, when he was prime minister, wouldn’t even allow a national conversation. Well, despite that, the nation once again, is ahead of its leaders.”

Anderson said one of her main concerns was there was “a lot of misinformation out there” about the statement. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce have both previously erroneously referred to the voice as a “third chamber” of Australian parliament.

“We’re mounting a public education campaign,” Anderson said. “We have translated it into 63 languages on SBS, so people can read the Uluru Statement from the Heart in their own language. And that’s had quite an emotional effect on a lot of people.

“I think people have this misconception that it’s a very long statement. But it’s not. It’s very emotional, it’s beautiful. And it’s very short. Everyone should read it.”

Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson (centre) said it was a ‘fantastic, amazingly wonderful thing’ for the Uluru Statement from the Heart to receive the Sydney peace prize.

In awarding the prize, the judges said the statement was a “clear and comprehensive agenda for healing and peace within our nation”.

“It is now up to us all to make its vision a reality,” said Archie Law, the chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation.

Anderson said it was important for all Australians to read it and to pressure politicians to act.

“We knew this before we left the centre of Australia, that the only way to win this really was to appeal to the Australian public,” she said. “After all, it’s the people who change constitutions.

“I know we need the government of the day to do the necessary legislation … But they are probably not going to do that unless their constituents say to them in the Woollies, or wherever, that they really support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and why.

“So I think we were absolutely correct to make it a gift. All the other attempts we’ve made, the bark petitions and everything, sadly, they’re in Parliament House, imprisoned behind glass. And we were determined for that not to happen to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.”

Noel Pearson said the statement was “the answer to the commonwealth’s desire to recognise First Nations in the constitution”.

“The evidence four years later is overwhelmingly that Australians will support giving us a Voice. It’s time.”

Anderson said that the idea of a constitutional voice had first been proposed by William Cooper in the 1920s and 30s.

“It’s not new,” she said. “This is the latest attempt to get perhaps some arrangement, some settlement with us.

“This latest process is in fact 10 years long. It started a long time ago. But even before that, it started pretty much in 1788. We have been saying pretty much the same thing. This is our place. We belong here. And we need to be respected and acknowledged.

“It’s the turn of this generation, all of those of us who are over 18, it’s our turn to try to heal the nation and come to some kind of settlement … And I think it would be good if the Australian public took this seriously, and tried to inform themselves. That would be my ask of the Australian public. This is important. It’s our turn.”

This article was written by Naaman Zhou and first appeared in the The Guardian on 26 May.

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