Charlotte Varcoe
NOMINATIONS for the South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament will open later this month.
Last year the First Nations Voice to Parliament was established with the initiative being made up of community members elected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the state.
The community members will represent their communities and provide advice on laws, policies and programs through direct line of communication with key decision-makers.
Its aim is to enable more informed and inclusive decision-making about the issues which matter most to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities.
Voting in the election is not compulsory, but Mount Gambier/Berrin First Nations resident Danni Smith is encouraging the local community to head to the polls on March 16.
Ms Smith said having a South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament was a great start for the state to have the opportunity to hear about issues affecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community at a grassroots level.
“I like how the government has broken down the state into the six regions and in terms of geographically our region is a really big area so we will be looking for representatives from all of those areas,” Ms Smith said.
“We are not all going to have the same issues but I think this is well done and provides room for discussion which is what will be created out of this.”
She said with the election coming off the back of the First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum held last year, she was optimistic the state-level initiative would have a positive outcome.
“Through the referendum we gained about 6 million allies so looking on that side of things I think the state Voice to Parliament will be received in good faith,” Ms Smith said.
“It is about having a voice to Parliament again on a state level and expressing the issues which affect us because we need to be a part of the solutions and aim to fix that.
“In order for that to happen we need to be consulted and we have to give advice on that.”
Ms Smith said she had already noticed a number of issues within the Limestone Coast which affected the local First Nations community including connection to culture and mental health.
“Health and education are also issues here and that is underlying across the whole state but I think it is definitely going to be highlighted down here,” she said.
“This is a small cost to help close the gap for our mob because the gap is only widening for our mobs in terms of health, education, incarceration so we can at least try.”
Ms Smith also encouraged all First Nation community members across the Limestone Coast to ensure they were enrolled on the state electoral roll and nominate themselves as a representative if they wish.
“People should also attend all your local information sessions which will be coming up soon and they get excited and happy because this is change and good change,” she said.
Electoral Commission of South Australia’s director of communications James Trebilcock said representatives from the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) will be visiting the Mount Gambier/Berrin community on Monday to further discuss the up and coming election.
Mr Trebilcock said representatives would talk to the community and make them aware of the election while also eliminating confusion with the previous referendum.
“If the community do want to vote or to nominate a candidate they will need to be on the electoral roll so we are down encouraging people to sign up or check their details on the electoral roll which the guys can do with people at that point in time,” Mr Trebilcock said.
“The team will also be helping people with nominations to run as candidates as well.”
He said since the end of the referendum last year, a number of team members had travelled to regional areas to discuss the election with a positive number of uptakes already.
“There has obviously been a lot of confusion around the referendum and the First Nations Voice to South Australian Parliament so this is about breaking down the stigma of the referendum and explaining to people what the state Voice to Parliament actually is,” Mr Trebilcock said.
He said there was still stigma from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities regarding being on the electoral roll and participating in the western democratic system but many community members were coming around to the idea due to the Voice.
“We have certainly had a number of people who were not on the roll and once I have explained to them what this is they then put their hands up and want to be involved,” he said.
The state has been split into six regions with the Limestone Coast’s boundary encompassing the entirety of the Riverland, the Barossa, the Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the Limestone Coast.
Other regions include Central, Far North, Flinders and Upper North, West and West Coast and Yorke and Mid-North.
All regions but the Central region will have seven elected members on the board.
The State Voice will have a total of 12 members with two representatives from each region.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are enrolled in South Australia will vote on March 16 to elect their local voice representatives.
Those wishing to run as a candidate must be enrolled on the electoral roll and be of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.
The ballot paper will have the names of candidates running for election with voters having to number candidates in the order of preference.
Early voting will also be available between March 6-15 with early voting centres set up across the state.
Postal voting will also be available as well as mobile polling in regional and remote locations between March 4-15.
Nominations for candidacy will open on January 22 and close on February 12 with nomination packs available on the South Australian Voice Election website.
