Leeroy Bilney, a member of the First Nations Voice, addressed South Australian parliament, emphasizing the body's determination to prove critics wrong. The speech highlighted racial issues and the Voice's role in closing the knowledge gap.
First Nations Voice presiding member Leeroy Bilney says the South Australian body offers ‘a seat at the table where decisions are made’. First Nations Voice presiding member Leeroy Bilney says the South Australian body offers ‘a seat at the table where decisions are made’.The First Nations Voice has delivered its first message to the South Australian parliament: “We are determined to prove you wrong.
Bilney, a Marlinyu Ghoorlie, Wirangu, Kokatha, Mirning, Noongar and Barngala man, outlined the racist history of Australia, as well as its ongoing racism, the results of the intergenerational trauma of colonisation, and the challenges the Voice faces.“There’s a lot of cynicism around the creation of the Voice, and there’s a heavy burden on us to prove ourselves … to prove ourselves to First Nations people who heard about the voice and thought ‘been there, done that’,” Bilney said.
Despite these obstacles, Bilney said, SA’s legislation has brought the Voice into parliament, offering “a seat at the table where decisions are made”. Members of the Voice know what they have to do, he added, to “close the gap of knowledge … with evidence and truth telling”. In introductory remarks, the state’s attorney general, Kyam Maher, acknowledged SA’s “very proud tradition of listening to the voices and aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander South Australians”.
First Nations Voice Leeroy Bilney South Australian Parliament Racism Colonisation Decision-Making
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