Ep 48 Thomas Mayo on the Voice to Parliament

In this special episode on The Voice to Parliament, I have the privilege of interviewing Yes campaigner and Director for Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, Thomas Mayo.

Thomas is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is the Assistant National Secretary of the MUA. 

Thomas is a signatory of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and has been a leading advocate since its inception in May 2017. He is the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Indigenous Labor Network and a director on the Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition board. 

Thomas is the author of six books published by Hardie Grant and has many articles and essays published across the major media providers.

His latest book is co-authored with well-respected journalist, Kerry O’Brien: The Voice to Parliament Handbook - All the details you need; published 17 May 2023. 

In this special episode I ask Thomas to answer the many questions arising from the proposal for the referendum for the Voice to Parliament. Some of these questions are legitimate. Sadly and frustratingly many are borne from a campaign of wilful disinformation. This means there is a lot of misinformation floating around and this episode is a chance to hear directly from one of the leaders of the YES campaign.

I hope you find this episode valuable, however you ultimately decide to vote. And I ask you please – if you have found it valuable, please share it with someone else who you think it could be helpful to. I also echo Thomas' ask at the end of our interview; to reach out and speak to people about this important proposal. To listen to them with patience, curiosity and respect and if and when you hear some of this misinformation as part of their consideration process, share the truth.

A healthy democracy depends on our citizens being well informed. Sometimes we need to get involved personally to protect our democracy. I believe this is one of those times.

Highlights of this episode:

• Thomas shares his vision of the future if this referendum is successful
• He shares the lessons learned from the history of struggle of Indigenous people for recognition and justice and how that has shaped the path forward including the proposal for the Voice to Parliament
• We talk about the deliberate campaign of disinformation
• He explains the history and the comprehensive process leading up to this proposal today
• Thomas answers some of the legitimate questions arising from the proposal
• He also debunks the more mischievous claims and outright disinformation designed to confuse and manipulate Australians
• He invites Yes supporters to reach out and speak to others respectfully about the Voice proposal
• He shares his hopes for a future where as a nation we have turned a page and taken the colonial past of their shoulders

 

Connect with

Thomas Mayo on Linkedin 

Yes23 website

 

Other links

Uluru Statement from the Heart

AEC Disinformation Register

RMIT FactLab

The Voice To Parliament Handbook by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O'Brien