Monday marks one year since the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, which left an indelible mark on many in the First Nations community and on the federal government. On the New South Wales south coast, a group of volunteers is helping to pave a way forward. The collective of First Nations people and allies in Nowra has been bringing the community together through local truth-telling events. This weekend will be their biggest yet.
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00:00Well, this group called the Walking Together Alliance came about because locals were looking
00:07for a way forward after the voice referendum had failed last year.
00:12Now, here in the electorate of Gilmore, the community voted two to one against a voice.
00:18But this group called the Walking Together Alliance really galvanised the momentum that
00:23was brewing for a voice to parliament and have created this network of around 100 volunteers.
00:31They range from archivists, doctors, lawyers and local elders coming together to really
00:37help as they describe Aboriginal or Indigenous and non-Indigenous people really get to know
00:42each other.
00:43And so what they've been doing over the last year really is been running a series of events
00:50ranging from local truth telling events with archivists around significant sites around
00:56here in Nowra and also things like First Nations film festivals.
01:01But as you mentioned, this event here this afternoon will be their biggest one yet.
01:06And it doesn't look like there's a lot of people here at the moment, but we're still
01:10a couple of hours away.
01:11Earlier today, we spoke to one of the founding members of the Walking Together Alliance,
01:17Uncle Jerry Moore.
01:18Let's take a quick listen to what he had to say.
01:22By holding events and I guess carrying on the good work of reconciliation where we have
01:32wonderful guests that actually spearheaded the referendum charge and we're going to have
01:40like a fireside chat and the auditorium sold out.
01:47So that gives you an idea of how interested people are in not just the referendum itself,
01:56but the aftermath and how we can move forward.
02:01A sold out event.
02:02Tani, what will today's event involve?
02:06Yeah, well, Ruby, as Uncle Jerry Moore just mentioned, then it's really about reflecting
02:11on the last 12 months.
02:13What happened?
02:14You know, what went wrong?
02:15But also, what is the way forward for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians?
02:19And so this event will really explore that through a Q&A panel.
02:25But to kick off the event at 2.30 this afternoon, a smoking ceremony will open the event.
02:30It'll be followed by a really beautiful women's choir singing in local language.
02:35And then we'll have the Q&A event, which will feature a range of local guests.
02:39But also the big one that everyone is keeping an eye out for is Aunty Pat Anderson, who
02:43was one of the key proponents of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
02:47So all the guests are really waiting eagerly this afternoon to hear what she's got to say.