Science & Technology Australia strongly supports a resounding ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum on October 14. We want all Australians to see the inspiring first cultures of this land as a great source of shared national pride. A ‘Yes’ vote would take us another step closer to that goal.
STA formally backed a constitutionally recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice earlier this year. As the nation’s peak body representing 115,000 Australian scientists and technologists, we now call our community to action!
By voting ‘Yes’, we are recognising 65,000 years of Indigenous cultures and histories and ensuring Indigenous Australians can give advice when laws are made about them.
We’d love you to use your voice over the following weeks to share your support of the ‘Yes’ vote and the Voice to Parliament. With a Yes vote, we have a chance to recognise the oldest continuing cultures anywhere on the planet in a profound moment of national unity.
Things you can do to support a Yes vote
-
Pledge and show your support.
Pledge your vote on the Yes23 website and stay up to date with the campaign. Encourage others to pledge their vote as your ‘call to action’.
Walk for Yes on 16 and 17 September with supporters nationwide to show your support for the Voice and a ‘Yes’ vote.
Share your support on social media. Dig into the resources from the Yes23 and Uluru Statement websites to get inspired and encourage your community to vote ‘Yes’!
Help build visibility for the Yes23 by wearing a t-shirt and badge and putting up a poster or sticking a bumper sticker to your car. All proceeds help power this grassroots campaign.
Donate to Yes23. Your donation will support the campaign to make calls to talk about the Voice, run town halls in crucial communities to get the word out, cover the costs of printing and distributing posters and flyers, make and promote advertisements across media, etc.
Volunteer on voting day to put the ‘Yes’ message in front of as many voters as possible.
-
Deepen your own knowledge.
Learn more about the referendum and prepare for conversations about why you are voting ‘Yes’. A successful ‘Yes’ vote will recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution, listen to Indigenous advice when laws are made about them, and make a practical difference.
Learn more about The Uluru Statement from the Heart and its invitation to the Australian people from First Nations peoples. It asks us to walk together to build a better future by establishing a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution.
-
Have a chat.
Talk with family, friends, colleagues and community members about why you are voting ‘Yes’. Foster open conversations by asking open-ended questions about what they think of the upcoming referendum. Listen carefully. Explain why you will be voting ‘Yes’, and hopefully, through respectful dialogue, you can help undecided voters come to their own decision to vote ‘Yes’.
Host a conversation around your kitchen table. ‘Together, Yes’ is a kitchen table conversation movement supporting a ‘Yes’ vote in the 2023 referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Host an event and get the conversation flowing.
