The NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA) is a peer-based harm reduction organisation that represents and advocates on behalf of people who use or have used drugs in NSW. It is our mission to improve the health, human rights and dignity of all people who use drugs in NSW. As a peer-based organisation we strongly believe in the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’, especially when it comes to the creation of laws and policies that affect our community members. For this reason, we would like to affirm our support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposed establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and the establishment of a Makarrata Commission for the purpose of treaty making and truth-telling.

NUAA acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of these lands and waters. We support First Nations peoples’ right to self-determination and right to participate in decision-making in matters that will affect First Nations peoples and communities. NUAA believe that the concept and principle of the Voice to Parliament that was announced in the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a step towards ensuring that the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are heard and centred in the development of policies and laws that could affect First Nations communities.

NUAA recognise and respect that there is no one view amongst First Nations peoples about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament. We acknowledge that the Voice on its own will not solve all the issues that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience as a result of the ongoing impacts of colonial laws and policies. We are hopeful that the Voice is a step towards ensuring that the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are actively considered in government decision-making moving forward, and that this will improve government accountability and transparency for matters that will impact First Nations peoples and communities.

NUAA will continue to be guided by the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health organisations and our First Nations members and staff in the lead up to the Referendum. We ask that our community members engage in sharing information and conversations about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament to support people to make informed decisions in the upcoming referendum.

More information about the First Nations Voice to Parliament, including explainers, is available via Voice Referendum and Uluru Statement from the Heart.

This statement was informed by consultation with Aboriginal staff members at NUAA and results from our 2023 Members Engagement Survey.

Painting by Aboriginal painter Clinton Woods, acrylic on canvas, titled “Native Flowers in Bloom”. Thanks to Boom Gate Gallery, Long Bay Correctional Complex.