ARTICLE · 13 AUGUST 2017

Uluru Statement from the Heart

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The 2017 National Constitutional Convention delivered the statement which calls for substantive constitutional change.

AustraliaGovernment, Public Sector

Josephine Heesh

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Delegates from 13 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander regions recently met at Uluru for the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, organised by the Referendum Council. On Friday 26 May 2017, following three days of discussion at the Convention, and six months of public consultation, Professor Megan Davis delivered the Uluru Statement from the Heart which called for "substantive constitutional change and structural reform".

The Statement contained two important proposals:

First Nations Voice

In the Statement, delegates "call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution". According to the Statement, "In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard."

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