YSAS is grateful for the Uluru Statement and supports the Yes campaign for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice to Parliament’

YSAS acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters on which we live and work. They were the first to establish sovereign Nations in this country and that sovereignty has never been ceded. 

We recognise the inherent cultural strength and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their vast experience in caring for the social and emotional well-being of their community.  We pay respect to First Nation’s Elders past and present and are grateful for the contribution of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and partners, who enrich us as an organisation. 

We are thankful that the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ has been shared with all Australian people and support the call an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. This will enable First Nations people to directly inform decisions and outcomes that affect their own communities. We urge all Australians to recognise the sovereignty, strength and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be enacted by Truth, Treaty and Voice. 

YSAS supports self-determination and justice for First Nation’s peoples

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a right to self-determination and justice. We are committed to learning from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations on how best to support them in fighting for justice and creating better futures for First Nations communities. 

We accept the truth of this country’s colonial past and recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to experience systemic racism in Australia today. We remember that the authorities in Australia used force to steal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, inflicting an overwhelming trauma that current and future generations have to find ways to live with. 

We do our best to confront this shameful truth and listen to the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. By listening and learning we start to comprehend how devastating it is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to witness the over-representation of their children and young people in the out-of-home care and justice systems across the country. 

YSAS commits to walking alongside and supporting First Nations people as the Referendum vote approaches, and to provide information to young Victorians and their families on what the Voice to Parliament will mean for our shared future.