Tasmanian Community Fund - Position on the Voice

The establishment of an Aboriginal Voice to Federal Parliament presents a once in a generation opportunity to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This is the strong view of the TCF Board.

We believe it is an important step towards fulfilling the Uluru Statement of the Heart of truth, treaty and voice and that it will ultimately better outcomes for Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face challenges – shorter life spans, lower educational/employment outcomes, higher incarceration rates and higher out of home care rates.

For a long time, the TCF has supported a number of initiatives that seek to improve the lives of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

The TCF’s focus is on removing barriers to learning, and the Voice, over time, will provide the opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide input to support better educational outcomes for their community.

The TCF’s other priority is to increase the community’s capacity to create their own solutions - the first step is being recognised and acknowledged, then being heard and finally supporting the implementation of change.

The Voice will do this by giving our First Nations people self-agency and allowing them to have a say in the matters that affect them.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was an invitation to the Australian people to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a better future.

The TCF believes that we need to make the right choice about the country we live in and what we leave our future generations. That is why we are so strongly supporting the Yes vote.

As part of our commitment, the TCF has provided a sizeable grant to the Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Ltd. We have provided this funding to help secure a successful referendum to recognise First Peoples and enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

This work will be undertaken in Tasmania by Yes23 and Reconciliation Tasmania. They share the goal of a strong majority Tasmanian Yes vote and have designed a campaign to build an alliance of supportive voices in Tasmania, mobilising volunteers and having face-to-face conversations with Tasmanians about the Voice referendum.