Join us for a Community BBQ in the spirit of Yes!
Rev. John Stanley is hosting a community BBQ on the Voice to Parliament. Hear how the a Voice to Parliament will create a better future for First Nations People. Speakers include:
- Uncle Ray Minniecon, Pastor, First Nations Leader. Ray and Sharon have worked for more than forty years to develop Indigenous ministries and advocate for Indigenous peoples in Australia and worldwide. Ray and Sharon also lead the Scarred Tree Indigenous Ministries at St John’s Anglican Church in Glebe, Sydney.
- Dr Joel Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Law, Sydney University, where he teaches Federal Constitutional Law and Public Law. He is a graduate of the University of Auckland and the University of Oxford and has taught at Oxford, Columbia University, Macquarie University, and Sydney. His writing focuses on constitutionalism, religious liberty, and human rights norms, with an emphasis on the relationship of these to theological ideas and history.
Sunday 8 October, 3:30-5:30pm, St George’s Church, Fiveways, Paddington.
The Voice Legislation and change to the Constitution
Later this year, our nation of Australia will have a crucial referendum. All Australians entitled to vote will be asked a Yes or No question. This Forum will present some reasons to vote “Yes” to the following question:
“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
The proposed law that Australians are being asked to approve at the referendum would insert the following lines into the Constitution:
“Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:
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there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
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the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
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the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.”
Additional Resources:
Listen to the Heart is a campaign led by Common Grace and supported by wide and diverse movement of Christians. Several members of the St George’s community have been involved in founding and leading Common Grace, and we continue to work with them on Voice and Justice.
Hear Allegra Spender, Ruby Langton-Batty, Professor Tom Calma AO and Dr Shireen Morris on the Voice to Parliament.
Several members of the St George’s community joined in this Town Hall on the Voice to Parliament where Allegra was joined by Professor Tom Calma AO, Member Referendum Working Group and Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Ruby Langton-Batty, Pro Bono Lawyer at Ashurst, and Constitutional expert Dr Shireen Morris of Macquarie University. This event is an opportunity to hear from experts about why they are supporting the Yes campaign.
VOICE: Walk With Us
Wentworth for the Voice is a network of local individuals, businesses, community groups and councils. Our aim is to engage the people of Wentworth in a respectful dialogue on the Voice, and to take up the invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart to walk with First Nations people for a better future by passing the Voice referendum. More information here.
Speakers
Ruby Langton-Batty is a proud descendant of the Bidjara and Iman peoples of Central Queensland. She was born in Alice Springs, grew up in the NT and Melbourne, and has lived in Sydney for over ten years. She was raised in an Aboriginal family and in Aboriginal culture and taught to have respect for others and a commitment to justice and human rights. Holding a Juris Doctor degree from UNSW, Ruby is a solicitor in Ashurst’s pro bono team. Prior to studying law, she worked as a professional stage and screen designer.
Professor Tom Calma AO is an Aboriginal Elder from the Kungarakan (Koong ara kan) tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja (Ee wad ja) tribal group in the NT. He one of Australia’s most respected human rights and social justice campaigners, who has worked for more than 45 years at local, community, state and international levels championing the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. His call for Australia to address the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples was the catalyst for the Close the Gap Campaign. He was instrumental in establishing the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples; has led the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program; co-chaired Reconciliation Australia for over a decade; and has co-led the co-design of a Voice to Parliament initiative. Currently serving as the Chancellor of the University of Canberra, he is also an active volunteer, consultant, and the first Indigenous Australian to be inducted as a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2022, he received fellowships from both the Australian Academy of Science and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. In 2023, he was awarded the Senior Australian of the Year.
Dr Shireen Morris is a constitutional lawyer and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School. She has advised Cape York Institute on constitutional reform for 12 years, and worked with Noel Pearson to help devise and advocate the concept of a constitutional Voice since 2014. Books include The Forgotten People (MUP), A Rightful Place (2017), Radical Heart (MUP), A First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution (2020) and Statements from the Soul (2023) @ShireenMorrisMs
Forum on The Voice, 
with Alegra Spender MP, Bishop Micheal Stead, law lecturer Dr Joel Harrison, Uncle Ray and Auntie Sharon Minicon, on 31st August at Watsons Bay Anglican Hall, 7:30 pm.
Because this is such an important referendum, a group of Church leaders in the Eastern Suburbs have decided to set up this Forum to hear presentations and have a panel of leaders answer questions. “Why Yes?” is the big question we want to help answer. We would love you to consider this question generously.
- The Right Rev Dr Michael Stead, Anglican Bishop of South Sydney
- Uncle Ray Minniecon, Pastor, First Nations Leader
- Allegra Spender MP, Federal Member for the seat of Wentworth
- Rev Dr Michael Jensen, Rector of St Marks Darling Point, Author, Theologian
- Auntie Sharon Minniecon, First Nations Christian Leader.
- Dr Joel Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Law, Sydney University, where he teaches Federal Constitutional Law and Public Law.
At The Sydney Anglican Synod in 2022, Resolution 33/22 was passed. It says this: “Encourage church members to give generous consideration to the “yes” votes in the referendum on whether the constitution should establish a First Nations Voice to parliament, once the details have been made clear.”
Rev Martin Morgan, Bondi Anglican.
Rev John Stanley, Paddington Anglican. john@paddington.church
Rev Stuart Robinson, South Head Anglican.
Dr Michael Jensen, Darling Point Anglican.