"The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invite to the Australian people, and I have seen people respond to that invitation. There is a sense that if we could do it 1967, then this is our generation and we can do it this time. I think that more and more people are feeling connected to the cause." - Dean Parkin

This week on the podcast, we are speaking to the Director of the From the Heart campaign —  Dean Parkin. From the Heart's mission is to see Australia realise the principles and propositions laid out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart — Voice, Treaty, Truth.

Dean was an active participant in the formulation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and was close to the design process. He has since embarked on a campaign to bring about awareness of the Uluru Statement and the tenets that lay within. This included speaking at TedX in Canberra in 2018, presenting the Uluru Statement to a live audience (link to that speech below).

We engage in this conversation with Dean for two fundamental purposes. Firstly, to illuminate the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Secondly, to demystify the First Nations Voice, which the statement outlines as the first step toward harmony between First Nations people and other Australians.

This episode is the first of a two-part series. In this episode, Dean explains what the statement is, who was consulted in order for it to be formulated, and why it is unprecedented for its scale. He also gives an insightful take on how previous efforts for constitutional recognition have created a foundation of precedent and success beneath the Uluru Statement.

We then move on to the topic of the First Nations Voice. Dean explains what it is, and outlines what function it is likely to have if and when it is actualised. He also address the line of rebuttal commonly known as the 'third chamber of parliament argument', and why he thinks it is baseless and misguided.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

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To learn more about the From the Heart Campaign: fromtheheart.com.au

Sources of audio snippets:

Nigel Scullion and Pat Dodson (00.00.52)

Nigel Scullion and Pat Dodson clash over Indigenous voice to parliament

Guardian News (YouTube channel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzmVhBa9xg

Dean Parkin (00.08.09 and 00.16.37)

The Uluru Statement From The Heart - an idea whose time has come | Dean Parkin | TEDxCanberra

TEDx Talks (YouTube channel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB-31jD4XcA

Megan Davis (00.21.10)

Uluru Statement from the Heart

Guardian News (YouTube channel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zREKuT6GUqU

Noel Pearson (00.28.49)

Noel Pearson - Woodford Folk Festival 2017

Cape York Partnership (YouTube channel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC3hMEl7Dlo

Thomas Mayor (00.35.00)

Discussing an Indigenous voice to parliament at Garma |The Drum

ABC News (Australia) (YouTube channel) 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s91ois0Z-m0

Danny Gilbert (00.40.29 and 00.52.16)

Danny Gilbert - Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Speech

Gilbert + Tobin (YouTube channel)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeimQWHy9Dg

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