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Have Your Say: Ex-Wallaby captain and senator David Pocock in Orange for Voice forum at the Nob
August 19, 2023
By Peter Holmes
Federal senator and former Wallabies captain David Poccock will be in Orange next week for a community forum on the referendum about the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The free event at the Hotel Canobolas on Wednesday (August 23, 2023) has been organised by Orange Region Voice Working Group, “a collective of Indigenous and non-Indigenous representatives from the Orange community who are committed to educating the community about the upcoming referendum”.
People are being invited to ask questions and share their thoughts about the referendum this year, for which no date has yet been set.
Australians will be asked in a referendum question if they support the idea of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being recognised in the Australian Constitution, and having a permanently enshrined right to voice their opinions and suggestions on matters that affect their lives.
In the past federal governments have formed bodies to serve a similar purpose, but following governments have closed them, and started their own, only for another government to continue the cycle.
They have included the National Conference of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Councillors (1972), National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (1973–77) and the National Aboriginal Conference (1977–85).
A Yes vote in the referendum would ensure the right to collectively have a voice without being subject to the whims of the government of the day.
According to the federal government: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have called for members of the Voice to be chosen by First Nations peoples based on the wishes of local communities.”
The voice would not have any powers to make laws.
Senator Pocock will join a six-member panel alongside Jamie Newman (CEO of Orange Aboriginal Medical Service), Andrew Gee (independent member for Calare), Alisha Agland (Uluru Youth Dialogue Ambassador), Kate Hook (community advocate and former political candidate) and Orange deputy mayor Gerald Power.
Orange conservatorium chairperson and former Orange High School principal Pam Ryan will MC.
Politically, the debate over the Voice to Parliament has largely split along party lines. Labor and the Greens back the Voice, while the Liberal and National parties have dug in against it.
Polls have suggested that support for the Voice to Parliament has dipped as the year has unfolded. However there is still a large portion of people who are yet to make up their minds.
People who are more educated, younger and/or living in metropolitan areas were more likely to back the voice, while those who are older, less educated and/or living in the regions were more likely to vote no. These are merely polling generalisations, however, and don’t fully reflect the diversity of opinions around the country.
“Before people vote, it’s important that people have the chance to ask their questions about the Voice proposal, hear the responses from the panel and make up their own mind,” said Agland.
You can book a free ticket here.
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