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Newcastle Anglican officially endorses ‘Yes’ vote in 2023 referendum
Newcastle Anglican is a leading faithbased organisation serving the people of the Hunter and Central Coast. We operate on the traditional lands of the Awabakal, Biripi, Darkinyung, Geawegal, Kamilaroi, Worimi, Garrigal, and Wonnarua peoples.
As a Christian organisation, storytelling is an important part of our eldership. God has been inspiring authors and narrators for millennia.
So, too, have our First Nations peoples.
Australia’s 60,000-Year History
Our Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples share the wisdom of a 60,000-year-old story. Australia’s history cannot be reduced to 235 years.
More than 750,000 Aboriginal people inhabited Australia thousands of years before colonisation. The indigenous peoples lived harmoniously. They developed languages, rituals, customs, and above all, a deep connection with land.
It is inescapable that we observe we are on land that has been colonised.
Conflict in our own Anglican history
The Crown established The Diocese of Newcastle by Letters of Patent in 1847. Our history is intrinsically linked with colonisation. Our leaders, often wealthy men, have made mistakes. The Aboriginal people of our region were dispossessed of their land and oppressed. We lament the reality of bloodshed and massacres.
We know this has caused unresolved and ongoing tension for us as a Diocese and as a community. We can’t right the wrongs of the past, but we can help ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. We choose to change the patterns of privilege.
A fair and truthful relationship
The Uluru Statement of the Heart invites the nation to “create a better future” with some key reforms:
• Voice: enshrining a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution.
• Makarrata: the coming together after a struggle to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
We wholeheartedly accept the invitation.
How we come together
Newcastle Anglican is guided by six core values: compassion, integrity, justice, courage, wisdom, and faith.
These values guide us as we work toward meaningful reconciliation. We commit to the joyful and demanding journey of Makarrata: conflict resolution, peace-making, justice, and treaty.
Newcastle Anglican offers unequivocal support to a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Our mission is for our people to flourish, because of what we do, inspired by the way of Jesus. We believe the Voice will help First Nations people to flourish.
We ask our community to join us in support of the Voice. Vote ‘yes’ in the 2023 Referendum, so all Australians have the opportunity to flourish.
A better future starts with a true expression of Australia’s history.
More Resources:
1 https://ulurustatement.org/education/design-principles/ 2 https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/support-a-voice-to-parliament/ 3 https://voice.gov.au/
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Anglican Council
Australia is moving steadily closer to the referendum on the Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution. Sometime before December we will be asked to vote on whether we recognize the First Peoples of this land in the Constitution and provide them a Voice to parliament on legislation that impacts them.
It is simple and uncomplicated and appeals to the fairness of Australians to recognise First Peoples in the founding document of our nation. This is a significant step that builds on the success of the 1967 Referendum and the democratic process we now know as the Statement from the Heart.
It is simple and uncomplicated as it is about justice – acknowledging that there were people who lived in harmony with this land before the First Fleet arrived and that they have suffered significantly and continue to do so despite the many interventions in the past 250-plus years. It is not about taking anything away from the powers of governments or the constitution itself. It adds to both in a way that allows Australia and Australians to live out fully their vision of themselves as the nation of the fair-go.
It is simple and uncomplicated in that it has no power to veto Government legislation. Period.
It provides advice, input and a Voice for the First Peoples on matters that affect them directly. It is not another layer of bureaucracy or a third chamber. It is there to be the conscience of parliament and will act in the manner the legislation under which it will be formed allows it to.
It is simple and uncomplicated. Do you and this Nation believe it is time to address the original sin of invasion, the subsequent exclusion of the First People from the Constitution and allow them a Voice enshrined in that Constitution on matters impacting them?
As the Statement from the Heart states on behalf of all First People, “We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.” For Christians this invitation by a people who have been decimated by colonisation to those who have benefited from it, rivals the absurdly compassionate generosity of God who sent his son so that whoever believes in him will be saved. (John 3:16)
The sheer brutality of the Cross is redeemed in the glory of the third day. It’s time for this Nation to enter the Third day that followed the crucifixion and the darkness of the tomb.
We invite you to join us in this journey.
