Getting to YES! in a respectful and safe way.

It’s official. The bill has passed through Parliament. Australia will hold a referendum – most likely on a Saturday in October or November. The question to be put to the Australian people at the 2023 referendum will be:

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

To answer this question, the 17 million Australians on the electoral role will either need to write the word ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Whether it has taken 60,000 years or six years – since the Uluru Statement from the Heart - to get to this point in history is a matter of individual perspective. But it is definitely a moment in history for this nation. A moment of responsibility, and as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier this week, “This is your time, your chance, your opportunity, to be a part of making history.”

As much as it pleased me to see momentum grow for the Voice campaign this week, and to hear the Prime Minister talk about people making history, I was also saddened to read stories of remote indigenous communities unaware of the campaign, and the continuing debate and discourse that has the potential to become more and more divisive.

Last month we published our position on the Voice referendum. We highlighted the link between identity, recognition, and genuine engagement in policy development, to help improve the social and emotional wellbeing of all Australians. Values that are at the core of our wider vision of mentally healthy people, and mentally healthy communities.

At Mental Health Australia we recognise and respect varying viewpoints. We also recognise that regardless of the outcome of the referendum, and the lead up over the next few months, the result will continue to impact the mental health of First Nations Australians.

History also tells us that getting to YES! is by no means guaranteed. The last YES! vote in a referendum was 46 years ago, while of the 44 proposals to change our constitution, only eight have ever been carried by referendum. That’s less than one in five.

For the one in five who are affected by mental illness each year in Australia, our focus will always be on how our community can advocate and improve mental health service delivery for the betterment of all.

In our Report to the Nation last year we found that First Nations Australians self-rated mental health is significantly lower on average than other Australians.

We know that more needs to be done to improve access to culturally responsive mental health services for First Nations Peoples.

We also know that getting to YES! in a safe and respectful will be equally as challenging. Challenging and rewarding too.

Have a nice weekend. 

Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia

The diary next week

• Having already started to listen to, and speak with, members one-on-one, I’m looking forward to catching up with more next week, including representatives from Gidget Foundation, Speech Pathology Australia, Dietitians Australia, Australian Society for Psychological Medicine, Blue Knot Foundation, The Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors, Ostara Australia, Mind Australia, Institute of Clinical Psychologists, National Rural Health Alliance, GROW Australia, Butterfly Foundation, Neami National, Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia, The Queensland Alliance for Mental Health, Australian Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies, Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, Independent Community Living Australia, Mental Health Council of Tasmania, Relationships Australia, Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition, Carers ACT, Ruah Community Services, Emerging Minds and Orygen.
• I’ll also be meeting with with Suicide Prevention Australia and Australians for Mental Health during the week.