A leading figure in the Voice campaign has used her first public statement since the referendum to back calls for a truth-telling commission.The Greens plan to introduce a bill to federal parliament to establish a truth and justice commission this week.
But in the wake of the defeat of the Voice referendum last year, the government has indicated it will "take its time" in getting the process right. Some leading Indigenous advocates argue that is a critical process, to avoid problems encountered by similar commissions globally.The defeat of the Yes campaign — which lost by a vote of about 60 to 40 per cent nationally, and failed to win any state or territory bar the ACT — was undoubtedly a political blow to the government
"So, in my view, the process of truth-telling in this country is well and truly underway, and it has been underway for a very long time."Inside a tiny community hall in Alice Springs, there's an appetite for frank and open talk between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal locals.She argues there is both a willingness and a need to have some of the difficult conversations that truth-telling may bring about.