I expect that every Christian Australian has interest in matters that promote reconciliation between First Nations and more recent Australians. Reconciliation is a peaceful fruit of the gospel (Ephesians 2) and when forged by God through Christ is fixed and firm for eternity. This we call ‘the church’. But reconciliation between folks beyond the church matters for the same essential concern for peace. Even a reconciliation that does not proclaim the peace-making power of the blood of Christ is still an echo of God’s beautiful heart of peace and to be greatly desired.
As a church, we weigh on on matters political when the legislative currency of an issue matches its’ biblical significance. Today I write on the Proposal of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. I judge it to be both biblically significant and very current. It is also a simple process to engage in.
Significant.
I have outlined the significance of this moment previously in a blog in November 2020. I believe that we ought recognise that while colonisation did bring the news of Jesus, the Lord of all peoples (just as Roman colonisation brought that news to my forebears), it also brought grave evils and tragic consequences for Indigenous peoples. This is a history which must still be reckoned with. I believe we are still in our infancy in doing so.
Secondly, James 1:19 asks each of us to ‘be slow to speak and quick to listen’. We have done this poorly with First Nations Australia, and they are asking us to listen in a special and urgent way right now. Since 2015, First Nations people have responded to a Parliamentary request for Indigenous input, and have met from a great diversity of 500 original nations, with a soundness of process, and with a crystal-clear outcome - the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ (2017). It was a request for all Australians to listen to their statement. This has been a collective, grassroots, democratic process that anyone in Australia could have be proud of to participate in, and which those of us looking on should regard with great respect.
Current.
The currency is as urgent as the significance is high. The government asks for submissions on the proposal of ‘an Indigenous voice to Parliament’ by April 30, 2021. So I ask you to consider your thoughts, and consider making them known to the government. We seek ‘the good of all people’ above and beyond the obvious command to care for ‘the family of believers’ (Galatians 6:10).
Simple.
The advocates of the Uluru Statement have done a great service in building a simple tool for making a government submission. It generates a letter for you, which you can copy and paste to the government upload site. Simple.
I found the tool excellent even for my kids to work through, as they wanted to have their say too. Can I commend it to you.
If you are persuaded by me that this matter of political development is a good one for our all people, then I copy my letter here as an example of how easy it is to generate one.
If you are unpersuaded, then may it gently seek to persuade you one last time.
My Letter
Jim Crosweller
339A, Maroubra Rd
Maroubra Rd
Dear Co-Design Body
Submission to Co-design process
With great enthusiasm, I write to respond to the Australian Government's request for submissions into the Proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. I grew up in Wiradjuri country, in Wagga Wagga, and have held a long interest as an ordinary citizen in Indigenous affairs. I now lead an Anglican parish in Sydney, having previously been a high school teacher, after studying Arts and Education at an undergraduate level at Sydney University and Theology at a Postgraduate level at Moore Theological College.
Why do you think the Uluru Statement from the Heart is important?
I am deeply impressed by the sound, patient, democratic process that has led to the Statement from the Heart. I believe it is a good faith response to the 2015 Referendum Council's request for input from Indigenous Australia. I suspect it has exceeded everyone's expectations at being a profoundly united and uniting declaration.
Why do you think it's important to enshrine the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution, rather than include it only in legislation?
I am persuaded that the Voice must be 'bolted into' our polity by being enshrined in the Constitution. Previous advisory bodies have come and gone at the whim of governments of the day. Constitutional protection would not only mean it has the mandate and support of the Australian people, but that it must live up to its' own ideals and aims over time. It sets up both an aspiration for its' highest functioning and instruments for reform at its' worst.
How could a Voice to Parliament improve the lives of your community?
I am persuaded that I have not effectively listened to Indigenous friends and neighbours. To 'show respect' in Wiradjuri language and culture, is to 'go slow'. My own personal culture and my community cultures in the Anglican church and in Maroubra move too quickly to listen slowly and with respect. I believe that this Voice represents an opportunity for our nation and its’ communities to place a greater value on listening and learning.
Why is it important for Indigenous people to have a say in the matters that affect them?
I am persuaded that the Voice to Parliament allow Parliament to have a helpful aid to its listening ear on Indigenous matters. We might rely on Indigenous representation by election, or expert advice from Indigenous advisors selected by the government. We often have. However, the first occurs rarely and the second risks a lack of independence or a preferment of already-agreed-upon advice. A Voice of Parliament combines values of representation, expertise and independence.
I suspect that there is some lurking fear, even from its’ friends, that the Voice might founder at some moment of weakness in its' representation, expertise, or independence. This is possible. It is, after all, also possible for the governments' we elect to prove to be weak on critical matters at times. We ought not proceed with any fear of failure. Please meet the high aspirations of the Voice with an acknowledgment that it also is robust in its' proposal enough to contain both the seeds of success, and in the event of weakness, its' own reformability. This is surely as good as a proposal as we shall hear for many generations. I meet this Statement from the Heart with a listening ear, and answer with agreement from the fullness of my own heart.
Kind regards,
Jim Crosweller