“What country do we want?”

That’s the question Brooke Prentis posed, an Aboriginal Christian leader, writer and speaker and Wakka Wakka women, who hosted a presentation last week on the arguments both for and against the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

More than 60 people from the Kiama LGA attended the event at Kiama Uniting Church organised by Brooke, who is a grassroots community organiser with no political affiliations. 

Brooke spoke on the significance of the Voice to Parliament, which if a vote passes, will establish a council to advise the government on the impact its policy has on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. 

This change requires a referendum to make alterations to the constitution, which Australians will have the opportunity to vote on between October and December this year.

Attendants praised Brooke’s engaging presentation that encouraged people to read the Uluru Statement from the Heart – a document that outlines the largest consensus by First Nations peoples on the need for recognition and reconciliation – to spark conversations about the statement and referendum. 

She also spoke about the significance of Voice, Treaty and Truth and shared a timeline of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders who have petitioned successive governments to recognise their rights and respect their culture, identity and spirituality through a treaty. 

As it stands, Australia is the only country in the world without a treaty with its First Nations people.

Brooke’s next workshop will take place on Saturday 27 May at Berry Uniting Church from 9.30-2.30pm.