DesignInc Says ‘Yes’ to the Voice

News / Studio News

DesignInc and Nguluway DesignInc have joined Architecture + Design Reconciliation Industry Network Group (A&D RING) members in co-signing an open letter to the Australian public endorsing the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a First Nations Voice in the constitution.

The Uluru Statement proposes the establishment of a First Nations voice in the Australian Constitution, a crucial step towards achieving reconciliation in Australia. DesignInc believes the Voice is a simple, sensible, and positive step in the process of righting the wrongs of the past and building a more equitable Australia.

DesignInc has initiated efforts to establish closer ties with First Nations communities. DesignInc’s Sydney and Adelaide offices have endorsed Reconciliation Action Plans, and the remaining offices are working toward endorsement through Reconciliation Australia. Our experiences have revealed the positive impacts of directly engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, whose wisdom, generosity, and worldview enrich our work and the built environment. 

ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART surrounded by dot artwork and signed by First Nations and with the following words. "We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown. How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years? With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood. Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future. These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness. We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination. We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history. In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future."
The Uluru Statement of the Heart
Wiradjuri architect and Director of Nguluway DesignInc, Craig Kerslake, yarning with the DesignInc Sydney team

An independent voice, removed from any political persuasion or influence, is the direct voice of our people. How could Australians vote any other way than YES!

Craig Kerslake
Director, Nguluway DesignInc

DesignInc upholds the principle of self-determination and is committed to providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to gain equity and prosperity. DesignInc invites other businesses, organisations and industries to show support for this significant moment in Australia’s history. We encourage all Australians to learn more about the Uluru Statement and make informed decisions in the referendum. 

Find out more by visiting ulurustatement.org and yes23.com.au.

Read the open letter from 39 architecture and design practices Australia-wide.

DesignInc directors from offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney met at Uluru this year in late July. Pictured from left to right in front of Uluru in late afternoon golden light; Mary Anne McGirr, Cathryn Drew-Bredin, Grant Hinds, Craig Kerslake, Cameron Martin, Richard Stafford, Richard Does, Di Lund, Darryl Suttie, Christon Batey-Smith, Rohan Wilson, Sonya Montgomerie, Ben Luppino, Ian Armstrong
DesignInc directors and associate directors from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney met together at Uluru in July 2023