Melbourne International Comedy Festival Voice to Parliament statement

On 14 October 2023, we take an historic step with the Referendum proposing that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ Voice to Parliament be enshrined in our Constitution. The Voice would be an advisory committee of First Nations people from all around our country that can give advice to politicians in Canberra in order to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival supports a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. We encourage everyone to seek the information they need to form their own views on the referendum, and urge all Australians to do what they can to understand the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Read the Statement here.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival provides the environment and promotional activities to unite and support a huge array of comedy events. The annual Festival is a platform for the presentation of fresh perspectives and challenging opinions from clever, funny people from across the country and further afield. We’re proud to be a platform for voices of all kinds, and to continue to champion irreverence, inventiveness and creativity, inclusiveness and accessibility, freedom of speech and respect for all.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander comedians are important creative voices in our industry, and for almost two decades the Festival has had the privilege of working with some of the finest First Nations artists through Deadly Funny. We are inspired by our First Nations colleagues, and the leadership and courage of those who contributed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We acknowledge that the Uluru Statement from the Heart emerges from a long struggle for justice and political recognition.

We accept the Uluru Statement’s invitation to walk together towards a brighter future and urge all Australians to cast their vote in the referendum to open pathways to positive change.

For more info about the Voice click here.