Time to Listen - An Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Castan, Melissa, Russell, Lynette
Time to Listen - An Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Time to Listen - An Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Castan, Melissa, Russell, Lynette

$19.95

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In 2023, debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament swirls around us as Australia heads towards a referendum on amending the Constitution to make this Voice a reality. The idea of a 'First Nations Voice' was famously raised in 2017, when Indigenous leaders drafted the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was envisioned as a representative body, enshrined in the Constitution, that would advise federal parliament and the executive government on laws and policies of significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But while Indigenous people may finally get their Voice, will it be heard?


In Time to Listen, Melissa Castan and Lynette Russell explore how the need for a Voice has its roots in what anthropologist WEH Stanner in the late 1960s called the 'Great Australian Silence', whereby the history and culture of Indigenous Australians have been largely ignored by the wider society. This 'forgetting' has not been incidental but rather an intentional, initially colonial policy of erasement. So have times now changed? Is the tragedy of that national silence-a refusal to acknowledge Indigenous agency and cultural achievements-finally coming to an end?


The Voice to Parliament can be a transformational legal and political institutional reform, but only if we really listen to Indigenous people, and they are clearly heard when they speak.

Author:   Castan, Melissa, Russell, Lynette
Publisher:   Monash University Publishing
ISBN:  

9781922979124


Pages:   96
Publication Date:   01 September 2023
Bind Format:   Paperback
Availability:  
This item is in stock and will be dispatched immediately.

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In 2023, debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament swirls around us as Australia heads towards a referendum on amending the Constitution to make this Voice a reality. The idea of a 'First Nations Voice' was famously raised in 2017, when Indigenous leaders drafted the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was envisioned as a representative body, enshrined in the Constitution, that would advise federal parliament and the executive government on laws and policies of significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But while Indigenous people may finally get their Voice, will it be heard?


In Time to Listen, Melissa Castan and Lynette Russell explore how the need for a Voice has its roots in what anthropologist WEH Stanner in the late 1960s called the 'Great Australian Silence', whereby the history and culture of Indigenous Australians have been largely ignored by the wider society. This 'forgetting' has not been incidental but rather an intentional, initially colonial policy of erasement. So have times now changed? Is the tragedy of that national silence-a refusal to acknowledge Indigenous agency and cultural achievements-finally coming to an end?


The Voice to Parliament can be a transformational legal and political institutional reform, but only if we really listen to Indigenous people, and they are clearly heard when they speak.

Product Details
Author:   Castan, Melissa, Russell, Lynette
Publisher:   Monash University Publishing
ISBN:  

9781922979124


Pages:   96
Publication Date:   01 September 2023
Bind Format:   Paperback
Availability:  
This item is in stock and will be dispatched immediately.
Reviews

Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!