Senator to speak on Voice to Parliament

SENATOR Patrick Dodson is coming to Ballarat next week.

Members of the public are invited to hear the Yawuru man speak at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute on Wednesday, 15 March at 4pm, as part of an ‘in conversation’ event.

Senator Dodson is the Federal Government’s special envoy for reconciliation and implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and is from Broome in Western Australia.

The talk has been organised by the office of the Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, in the lead-up to a planned referendum about recognising First Nations peoples in the constitution through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

“Senator Dodson has dedicated his life to advocating for constructive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples based on mutual respect, understanding and dialogue,” said a statement from the MP’s office.

He will be interviewed by Adnyamathanha Yura man and Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative manager of the cultural and therapeutic support programming Shu Brown, and they will cover the referendum, what a Voice to Parliament would mean, and how it would impact the community.

The event is free but bookings are required via trybooking.com/CGPNY.