We support the Uluru Statement.

The other day we stumbled across something we'd written down way back in 2018. The words came from one of the great modern Australian writers of our time, Richard Flanagan, as he spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra. In front of a crowd of people, Flanagan explained a sentiment that many of us who are descended from the colonial history of this country might recognise; something familiar in how non-Indigenous people like ourselves have come to understand Country in a way our ancestors never could, thanks to the unwavering generosity of First Nations people across the continent.

"If we were to have the courage and largeness to acknowledge as a nation both truths about our past, we would discover a third truth, an extraordinary and liberating truth for all Australians’ future, about who we are and where we might go. We would discover that although this land and its people were colonised, a 60,000 year old civilisation is not so easily snuffed out. And the new people that came to Australia - in their dealings with Black Australia - were also indigenised. And in the mashup Indigenous values of land, of country, of time, of family, of space and story became strong also among non-Indigenous Australians."

We have an opportunity to write a new story. At its heart this referendum is not about politics, politicians or parliament. It is an invitation to the people; to every single one of us:

"We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future."

And that's why we'll be voting Yes at the referendum this year.

Cheers,
The Rivers Crew