The painful social realities experienced by us, Indigenous Australians, was the driving energy establishing the Values-Oriented Indigenous Centre of Excellence (V.O.I.C.E.). Despite the societal progress, despite the various political discourses, apologies and social policies promised but never fulfilled over the last half a century, we, Indigenous Australians, are still the most disadvantaged and marginalised social category of our country.

 

It seems that, in order to make a positive change, to induce an improvement in the social status of Indigenous Australians, a new approach, a new platform and a new strategy, are necessary to ensure that democracy, human rights, equal opportunity, prosperity, do not remain just words in a dictionary, but become a flourishing reality in the 21st century Australia.

 

V.O.I.C.E. is not a political party and does not support or sympathise with any of the players in the Australian political spectrum.

 

V.O.I.C.E. is and will always be a not-for-profit organisation committed to providing an effective social services platform that is consistent with the principles of social justice:

• Equity in the distribution of services and resources;

• Rights are recognised and promoted without any discrimination;

• Access without restriction to all resources and services that are essential to meeting the basic needs and to improving the quality of life; and

• Participation and consultation in all the decision-making processes that affect the lives of our communities.

 

While it is expected that the main beneficiaries will be children and adolescents of Indigenous Australian heritage, V.O.I.C.E. will have an “open doors”, non-discriminatory policy, accepting clients and working with communities of all cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds, irrespective of their age, gender, political or sexual orientation. Furthermore, V.O.I.C.E. will perform its activities in continuous consultation with community organisations, local, state and federal governments and agencies, to ensure consistency and uniformity with the social and economic realities of the respective communities.