This feature, published ahead of the 2023 referendum, profiles two Indigenous BGS Old Boys and their work around the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament.
Dean Parkin '98, a proud Quandamooka man and director of the From the Heart campaign advocating for the Voice. In 2020 he addressed BGS students at Assembly, giving context and background on the Uluru Statement. He is described as a prominent advocate for constitutional and structural reform. (Recoverable quotes reference the Statement as an invitation to "stand up and speak for what is right," and Parkin recalling the BGS ethos of being "a Grammar man" as having "drilled into us how to be" someone who does so.)
Professor Benny Wilson '02, recently appointed Head of College (College of First Nations) at the University of Southern Queensland. As a First Nations man, Professor Wilson considers educating others part of his duty, and speaks to how a First Nations Voice in Parliament would help show the Australian public how First Nations people feel about important issues. He has dedicated his career to advocating for an Indigenous voice to be present in the education sector.
(Some passages on this page could not be reliably recovered from the mirror-reversed scan and are omitted rather than guessed.)
Old Boys featured: Dean Parkin '98 (director, From the Heart / Voice campaign; Quandamooka man) and Professor Benny Wilson '02 (Head of College, College of First Nations, University of Southern Queensland).