The daughter of a trailblazing Aboriginal land rights pioneer whose negotiations helped return 10 per cent of South Australia to the Anangu people hopes a Voice to state parliament will build a bridge for Indigenous communities to thrive again.
“So that we can build more services and more happiness,” Pukatja (formerly Ernabella) artist and pastor Melissa Thompson told SBS News. “To make a better bridge, a fresh bridge that we can walk on.”
When the late Mr Thompson signed the document returning the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands as freehold title to Aboriginal people in 1981, it was an unprecedented achievement for self-determination.
Four decades on, his daughter hopes to win a seat at the table as South Australia makes history by electing the first Indigenous Voice to advise a state parliament.
“My father was a person who was a role model for the people in the lands,” Thompson said. “Now as a daughter, I am willing to stand in my authority, to become a role model for my generation.”
Didn’t South Australia say No to the Voice in the referendum?
Some are questioning why South Australia has pushed ahead with a Voice after the failed national referendum.
South Australia dashed the hopes of Yes campaigners after it returned the second largest No vote in the country, next to Queensland.
But the state government has maintained that an advisory body embedded in state laws is a very different approach to the constitutional change proposed in the referendum.
The SA Voice was legislated months before a referendum date was announced. Elections originally slated for last year were later pushed back to avoid confusion.
While the referendum failed, data showed.
What will the South Australian Voice be?
A 46-member body of seven candidates from five regional divisions and 11 from the Central zone will form the local Voice, with elections taking place on Saturday.
Each region will choose a male and female member to represent them on the 12-member state Voice.
And the state Voice will have a direct line to parliament, cabinet and government agencies, about policy and matters of concern to their communities.
It will establish groups to hear from young people, elders and the Stolen Generation and about Native Title.
Only First Nation South Australians living in the local division are eligible to vote.
Why other states and territories could take notice
Despite the failed referendum “we still had 113 candidates brave enough to put their hands up … I don’t think we can understate that,” SA Voice Commissioner Dale Agius said.
“What this does is it cuts through all the clutter and puts regional priorities front and centre at the point of decision making.”
Agius said he understood other states and territories were closely watching the progress of the SA Voice.
“If we can demonstrate that outcomes are more precise and are hitting the mark and resources are going where they need to go , then that’s a good thing for all South Australians.”
Actor Natasha Wanganeen. Source: EPA / Hannibal Hanschke/EPA
First Nation actor and Aboriginal sovereignty campaigner Natasha Wanganeen was an active opponent of the federal Voice but said she supported the decisions of a large number of aunties and uncles who have nominated for election.
“I support them and their bravery and their courage to stand up and give government another go,” Wanganeen said.
“Personally, I can’t do that anymore.”
“I feel like the Voice’s advisory panel will be a customer complaint line for Indigenous issues.”
Denise Wanganeen (right) and Lorraine Karpany are both running for the Yorke and Mid-North region. Credit: Peta Doherty/SBS
SBS News met one of her aunties — Denise Wanganeen — at the Point Peace Aboriginal Community on the Yorke Peninsula.
Denise and her friend Lorraine Karpany are standing for election, both women driven by concerns over their grandchildren’s future.
Both are brimming with ideas on how community could be improved, from converting a deserted aged care home into a hostel to starting a school for children with special needs.
“It’s happening in every black community, you know we are all struggling,” Denise said.
“I want to see change.”
