For anyone needing a refresher,the statement,a precursor to the referendum on anIndigenous Voice to Parliament,includes the following words:“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”.
On Monday,the Voice legislationpassed the Senate,meaning a referendum will be held within six months’ time,most likely in mid-October.
Although politics usually takes a back seat at the Midwinter Ball,which is attended by MPs of all stripes,it has become a forum for political fashion statements in recent times. Last year,Greens’ Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Claudia Perkins,the wife of Greens’ leader Senator Adam Bandt,wore gowns featuring climate-change messages that were thought to be inspired by US Senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021“Tax the rich” Met Gala dress.
But the designer of Stewart’s dress,Clothing the Gaps co-founder Laura Thompson,wants to make something clear:this is not a “protest gown”.
“What Jana is wearing is very much less of a protest and more of an invitation,” says Thompson,a Gunditjmara woman whose brand normally focuses on sustainable streetwear.