A NSW Riverina woman is optimistic about a proposal to elevate the voices of First Nations people to law and policies makers.
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Over the last 12 months, more than 52 members across three co-design groups have worked through options for what the Indigenous Voice might look like and how it might operate.
Richard Weston, the first Deputy Children's Guardian for Aboriginal Children and Young People in NSW and a proud Meriam man from the Torres Strait, visited Wagga Wagga this week as a part of the consultation process.
Mr Western explained that the National Voice proposal would be a body made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the country and speak directly to Parliament.
"The other model is the Local and Regional Voice proposal which would be community designed and lead governance structures at a regional level," he said.
"It's open for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to view and make comment on, and share their ideas.
"It's also open to non-Indigenous members of the community, so they can come along, participate, and have a listen."
Rachel McPhail moved to Coolamon in 2018 and is currently studying social work at Charles Sturt University.
It was here she began her mission to see First Nations place names included in postal addresses, and for here, the Uluru Statement of the Heart critical.
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"It is really important to me in terms of amplifying Indigenous voices in really important issues and society," Ms McPhail said.
"I think that community consultation is really important. I think the one in Wagga was really good.
"One thing that I am excited for is the fact that it is going to allow people on the grassroots level to be able to get their thoughts and wishes sent up to parliament. Things that are important to the community will be able to be heard on that national level."
Ms McPhail has seen first-hand how one community member's idea can flourish into a national movement.
She is the brains behind the campaign for Indigenous place names to be recognised on mail, a cause taken up by Australia Post.
Ms McPhail said any measure to elevate the voices of First Nations people to law and policies makers can only be a good thing.
The co-design groups will use the feedback received through the consultation period to refine the proposals and inform recommendations and the final report to the Australian Government.
Mr Western said during the Wagga session, residents from the Riverina came along to share their views on the proposals.
"Mr Wyatt is very concerned about whether we get value for the services and programs that are delivered in our communities and how can we get better outcomes," he said.
"He really wants to elevate the voice of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."
Mr Western said some great ideas were raised during the Wagga meeting, with locals providing feedback in an array of areas.
"There was talk about how existing structures and how do they get organised to come together and work more closely to create that local and regional voice," he said.
"That's an issue, it's not just about how relationship with government. It's about the relationships we have amongst ourselves.
"Wagga is a good example - not everyone is Wiradjuri. When you come onto other people's country you got to respect that and the traditional owners have to find some way to accommodate all these people from different nations to come together to form a community that's cohesive."
There was ideas put forward from the floor in Wagga, Mr Western said, such as having a national conference every year so groups can come together, talk, share ideas and work out what are the burning issues.
"There were a lot of warnings sounded about different structures that we have had in the past," he said.
"They mentioned the need to include ethics in there, the importance to have gender-balance ... how it's a really important to allow young people to participate and have a say and even how we might structure local and regional mechanisms using Aboriginal family structures.
So, using matriarchs and patriarchs to shape what we do."
To provide feedback and find out more about consultations at https://voice.niaa.gov.au.