
Voice of Reason
On Recognition and Renewal: Quarterly Essay 90
Megan Davis(Author)
Quarterly Essay (Publisher)
90th Edition
Published on 19. June 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
167 pages
978-1-76064-421-5 (ISBN)
Description
Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a "constitutional moment" that offers a new vision of Australia
At Uluru, an invitation was issued to the Australian people. With the upcoming referendum, the nation will decide whether to accept that invitation. In this compelling, fresh and imaginative essay, Megan Davis draws out the significance and the promise of this "constitutional moment" - what it could mean for recognition and justice.
Davis presents the Voice to Parliament as an Australian solution to an Australian problem. For Indigenous people, it is a practical response to "the torment of powerlessness." She highlights the failure of past policies, in areas from child protection to closing the gap, and the urgent need for change. She also brings out the creative and imaginative dimensions of the Voice. Fundamental to her account is the importance of truly listening. In explaining why the Voice is needed from the ground up, she evokes a new vision of Country and community.
"When people say this is about changing Australian identity, it's not. It's about location; we are located here together, we are born here, we arrive here, we die here and we must coexist in a peaceful way. The fundamental message that many elders planted in the Uluru Statement is that . . . the country needs peace, and the country cannot be at peace until we meet; the Uluru Statement is the beginning of that." Voice of Reason, Megan Davis
More details
Edition
90th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Australia
Publishing group
Black Inc.
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
285 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-76064-421-5 (9781760644215)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Professor Megan Davis is an international law scholar
and Director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the Faculty
of Law, UNSW. She is an expert member of the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New
York, and was a member of the Prime Minister's Expert
Panel on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution. Born in
Queensland, with Aboriginal and South Sea Islander heritage,
she is the first Indigenous person to represent Australia
on a UN body.