'Yes' vote for The Voice will show we are listening

Here are a few words as to why on October 14, I'll be voting yes for a voice to parliament.

The upcoming referendum on The Voice is a pivotal moment in Australian history. Coming at a time when we are all being called to become both more informed and more responsible custodians and stewards of our common home, planet Earth.

I'm a rural woman approaching elderhood with a deep love of our country and a desire to be a wise ancestor for current and future generations.

I would like to say my understanding of our Constitution has been rich, nuanced and something I had learned about in my school years, but I would be lying.

Sadly, I sense many Aussies know more about the US Constitution than our own.

And here I stand now, grateful to all those sharing information to help remedy this.

Deeply aware we each need to be mindful consumers of information.

Two important documents for me have been 'The Voice to Parliament Handbook' Kerry O'Brien and Thomas Mayo release The Voice Handbook - ABC listen and a Conversations podcast with Constitutional Expert Kim Rubenstein Kim and the Constitution - ABC listen

I share these not as weapons to prove a point but as a doorway into increasing understanding.

It is my intention to speak of my experience, approaching this decision with an open mind and heart, based on my years living and working in rural areas.

Through my professional and personal life, I have been fortunate to get to know people at a deep level and to witness how their lives and their locations have helped to shape their meaning and making.

For decades, I have witnessed the loss of context that permeates our world.

With this lack of context and a reliance of centralised decision-making, we have sacrificed a lot.

The natural intelligence in all life has been removed in favour of hard data and left brain thinking. I have seen this in agriculture, health and education.

So much time and money wasted, so much natural intelligence and grounded wisdom ignored and belittled. I have a sense you will all have an idea of what I mean.

Mothers understand with their children, farmers with their land and animals, good health practitioners with their patients.

Take that back even further to our First Nations peoples, who for tens of thousands of years lived in right relationship with this land, deeply observing, listening and interacting. Whose voices and stories have been ignored and lost for so long.

This is not unique to Australia, but a product of the way of thinking that permeated Western culture in the 1900s.

Through the decades, we have seen change occur around human rights. Women initially were second class citizens, unable to vote. Sadly, this still occurs in other nations. But my sense is we Aussies pride ourselves on a fair go for all.

Now we are being called to make a constitutional change where we can show each other and the world we acknowledge First Nations people. That we listen to and value their knowledge and truly give them a say on issues affecting them.

I encourage you to understand what this means, but also make time to tune into your heart and what calls you as the way forward to truly unite us as a nation. It was called 'The Uluru Statement of the Heart' for a reason.

I would also encourage you to talk with First Nations folk and seek to understand from their perspective. Relying on YouTube and mainstream media can be a dangerous way to make sense of any topic.

Your yarns can help create deeper understanding and may inspire others to do the same. Just as wearing my t-shirt helped open the topic at the gym.