Voice to Parliament: John Farnham and other artists saying Yes

John Farnham has lent his famous track You’re the Voice to the Yes campaign for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Farnham rarely allows his music to be used in commercial advertising, but has given permission for his anthemic song to be used in an advertisement created by the Uluru Dialogue, now airing.

Farnham, who recently announced he was free from throat cancer after being diagnosed late last year, said that the song “changed [his] life. I can only hope that now it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations Peoples for the better.”

Farnham joins a growing group of leading Australian musicians and arts organisations in both contemporary and classical music who have announced their support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

On 1 September, Paul Kelly added his voice to the Yes campaign with the release of a new single titled If Not Now, which features lyrics urging Australians to vote in favour of the Voice.

John Paul Young and Warren ‘Pig’ Morgan also announced their support through a song called From the Heart, which features narration by Jack Thompson. 

On 21 August, Opera Australia announced its endorsement of the Voice to Parliament. It also launched its first Reconciliation Action Plan, which aims to create stronger creative relationships between Indigenous Australians, OA and opera as an art form.

Musica Viva Australia voiced its support in June, stating that it backs a pathway for “First Nations Australians to communicate with the government”.

Currently, only two of Australia’s state orchestras have taken a stance.

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra released a statement on 31 August in which it said: “Just as we are proud to share the stage with First Nations voices through our musical collaborations, WASO is proud to advocate for a Voice to Parliament.”

On 1 September, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra followed suit, issuing a statement saying that it stood behind the Voice, so the “experiences, concerns and aspirations of First Nations people and communities are heard.”

Live Performance Australia has affirmed its support, and announced that it has also been reviewing how its First Nations members can be “better heard” within its structure. “The referendum is an important opportunity to continue the work of reconciliation through recognising and listening better to First Nations people,” said President Richard Evans.

Melbourne art music ensemble Rubiks Collective announced today that it was proud to support the Voice to Parliament. Ensemble Offspring has also lent its support to the Yes vote, saying that it acknowledges “the importance of the right to self-determination, recognition, truth-telling and the authority of Australian First Nations People in defining and controlling their cultural narratives.”

Griffith University and the University of Melbourne, which comprise the Queensland and Melbourne Conservatoriums respectively, have announced their support, as has the Sydney and Wollongong Conservatoriums and the Australian National Academy of Music.

In April, Indigenous dance company Bangarra Dance Theatre expressed its support. “By supporting the vote for ‘Yes’, we not only pay respect to the truth of the past, we state our vision for our future as a nation that values equity and fairness and acknowledges the rights of Indigenous Peoples,” it said in a statement.

Sydney Dance Company has also shared its belief in the Yes campaign.

In June, Belvoir St Theatre released a statement in favour of the Voice in which it said: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities from around the Nation have always shared their stories on our stage. These artists and stories have enriched all of our lives.”

Melbourne Theatre Company and Bell Shakespeare have included their support, saying on their websites: “We accept the invitation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and support a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Australian Constitution.”