Book industry organisations announce support for Voice
A number of Australian publishers and writing organisations have published statements in support of Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum.
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) made the following statement of support:
’We respect the efforts by Australian First Nations People for recognition and representation. We accept the invitation offered in the Uluru Statement from the Heart to walk together towards reconciliation by supporting a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.
‘Operating on the lands of the Gadigal people, the APA acknowledges that our colleagues and members live, work, and publish on Indigenous lands throughout Australia. We honour all Elders, past and present, from across the nation.
‘As publishers, we work with authors, researchers, and illustrators to shape and reflect Australian culture. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including as creators and custodians of stories, make a unique contribution to Australian life and identity. Accordingly, publishers have a responsibility to amplify First Nations perspectives, creators and content. There is still work to be done to ensure equity for First Nations People, in publishing and in wider society, and we are committed to providing opportunities that support positive change.
‘As an industry committed to the publication and circulation of quality information, we recognise the importance to Australian democracy of informed discussion about the Voice to Parliament. With over 200 member companies and 4,000 staff, we understand that differing views on this proposal exist. Consultation was central to our decision-making on this significant issue, and we advocate for respectful and informed debate.’
Black Inc. has announced support of a Voice to Parliament ‘as a vital first step towards making real, practical improvements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.’
‘We are proud to have published books and essays by established First Nations writers, including Megan Davis, Noel Pearson, Stan Grant and Anita Heiss, as well as emerging writers through our collections Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia and the forthcoming Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia.
‘At Black Inc. we know that words hold the power to foster connection and shape people’s lives, and so too do the words of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This referendum is Australia’s opportunity for connection and change, and we support the call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution.’
Sydney Writers Festival published a statement on social media, which in part reads:
‘In 2017, over 250 First Nations Delegates gathered to put their signatures on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It invites Australia to create a better future through a three-part process that begins with recognising First Nations people with a Voice enshrined in the Constitution. We recognise that the creation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart was extensive and collaborative.
‘The Sydney Writers’ Festival organisation acknowledges the significant invitation presented by First Nations people in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the historical importance of this opportunity. SWF considers the referendum to be an opportunity to shape the future of Australia, and collectively, we express our endorsement of the YES campaign in the referendum.’
The Australian Society of Authors made a statement paying respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers and artists ‘for their storytelling, their expression and sharing of their culture, and knowledge of Country’.
The ASA statement reads, in part: ‘We understand and respect that there will be a range of views on the upcoming referendum held within our membership about the Voice. As writers, artists and readers, we endorse both individual expression and listening with an open mind. We respect the position of some on our board and within our membership who have called for Truth first, followed by Treaty, followed by a Voice to Parliament and recognise that the Voice, and voting Yes in the referendum, is not the only action needed to advance reconciliation.
‘The ASA Board and staff support all the steps laid out in the Statement from the Heart and recognise that all Australians will have to vote from their hearts.’
In the BookPeople newsletter, CEO Robbie Egan wrote, ‘We are a broad church here and don’t take a position on your behalf, but I have personally been swayed by the logic of constitutional recognition.’
The Writers for the Voice website includes the following organisations as supporting the voice:
- Allen & Unwin
- Annabel Barker Literary Agency
- Australian Publishers Association
- Better Reading
- Brio
- Broadcast Books
- Black Inc Books
- Calidris Literary Agency
- Clan Destine Press
- Curtis Brown Agency
- Fair Play Publishing
- Giramondo Publishing
- Gleebooks
- Hardie Grant
- Jacinta di Mase Agency
- Leftbank Literary Agency
- Melanie Ostell Agency
- Midnight Sun Publishing
- Murdoch Books
- Newtown Review of Books
- Pan Macmillan Australia
- Penguin Random House
- PEN Melbourne
- Puncher and Wattman
- Scribe Publications
- Simon & Schuster
- Text Publishing
- Transit Lounge
- Ultimo Press
- UNSW Press
- Upswell Publishing
- University of Queensland Press
- University of Western Australia Press
- Wakefield Press
- WestWords.
Category: Local news
