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NAIDOC Week: Government must enshrine First Nations voice in constitution

8th Jul 2019

Enshrining a First Nations Voice in the constitution must be a priority for this government, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) amidst NAIDOC Week celebrations.

“We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people want their voice to be heard. The time is right to take this significant and historic opportunity to advance constitutional change,” said ALA National President, Mr Andrew Christopoulos.

“Our legal system has often failed to adequately represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“We can see the effects of this every day in the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons and detention centres, and in the way the law has been used to break up families.

“We believe the recommendations in the Uluru Statement are sensible, pragmatic and legally moderate.”

The NAIDOC Week theme this year - Voice. Treaty. Truth. - are three key elements to the reforms set out in the Uluru Statement.

Tags: Indigenous rights