In light of next month’s referendum on the inclusion of a First Nations Voice to parliament and the cloud of misinformation and uncertainty surrounding it, HCA feels it is vital as a health consultancy company that has worked for over 20 years in the Aboriginal health field to state its unequivocal support of The Voice. HCA offers its support because the majority of First Nations people, including all of HCA’s longstanding consultancy associates, colleagues and partners have respectfully asked for it and it is not a big ask.

The Voice would be, if Australia votes Yes, an independent First Nations body providing advice to the federal government on matters affecting indigenous Australians. It would be an advisory board and would not have the power to legislate. The government would have the option to listen to or ignore the advice.

A Yes vote will, and we know this from our conversations, make a huge difference to the way Aboriginal people, including our colleagues, feel about life in this country. Equally, a No vote will be devastating.

The Voice will provide a crucial stepping-stone to providing equity for First Nations Australians. We all need to have a voice, this is especially true for groups of people whose voices have been trodden on and subjugated. An organisation that HCA has worked with and for in the past, the Lowitja Institute, has been a beacon for First Nations people having a Voice at local, State and National levels on how their health can be improved. See their well-reasoned argument for a Yes vote.

A successful implementation of The Voice would lead to better health outcomes for indigenous Australians. HCA supports this wholeheartedly and strongly encourages people to vote Yes on October the 14^th.