2023-03-31
The newly-established Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum will consist of 13 members, including WA Greens Senator, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Dorinda Cox.
The other committee members are Senator Nita Green, Senator Jana Stewart, Senator Linda White, Sharon Claydon MP, Peta Murphy MP, Shayne Neumann MP and Gordon Reid MP from the government, and Keith Wolahan MP, Senator Andrew Bragg, Senator Kerrynne Liddle and Pat Conaghan MP from the Coalition, and former Nationals MP, now Independent, Andrew Gee MP.
The committee will report by May 15, with Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney saying the government was open to changes to the amendment and question.
Quotes attributable to Australian Greens spokesperson for First Nations, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox:
“I appreciate the opportunity afforded to me by my party and the Senate to participate in this inquiry.
“I look forward to working collaboratively across the aisles and chambers of parliament with my colleagues to ensure this referendum legislation works in the interests of all Australians.
“This is an important year in a decade of action for First Nations Australians. The Voice to Parliament referendum marks an important step on the pathway to truth-telling and Treaty, and the Australian Greens remain committed to progressing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
“There’s much attention on the Voice right now, and rightly so, many Australians have never had the opportunity to vote in a referendum before. First Nations issues and voices are being elevated because of this, and that is a positive thing.
“As a Senator for Western Australia and a First Nations woman, I’m proud to be actively involved in two Senate inquiries right now that are drawing attention to First Nations issues, the second being the inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children, whose on-Country hearings are gathering evidence from families across the country who have lost loved ones.”