INDIGENOUS leaders are determined to make sure calls for a Voice to Parliament don't fall on deaf ears.
For far too long, government overreach has impacted the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Wangkumarra/Barkindji man and Indigenous advocate Sean Gordon said at a community barbecue on Sunday.
"My reason for voting yes at the referendum is that I want my people to have a greater say, absolutely our voice must be heard," he said.
"We must be able to take control of things we are responsible for as parents, as a community, as organisations - and governments must step out of the way and take on the role of enablers, not doers.
"They have occupied the role of doing for far too long and they have failed at it."
The barbecue was an opportunity for members of the community to learn more about the Voice to Parliament referendum slated for the second half of the year.
The referendum will ask Australians to vote on whether they support a constitutionally enshrined body that would allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have input on the laws and policies that directly affect them.
For Worimi elder and healer Theresa Dargin, it's a step towards healing intergenerational trauma - an opportunity to change the storylines handed down to her children and grandchildren.
"It's been very difficult for us to be forced to forget our universal laws, which are our spiritual laws," she said.
"No matter what colour our skins are, no matter what backgrounds we come from, no matter how we practice different cultures, we still exist as one.
"If we can get that ignorance and ego out of the way, which is greed, I know one day these little ones will not have to fight the fight that our grandparents and great grandparents have fought for over 200 years."
Hosted by City of Newcastle, the barbecue was an opportunity for Indigenous leaders to share their views, along with mayor Nuatali Nelmes, Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp and Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon.
If the referendum passes, a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice would be able to make representations to parliament and the government about the policies and projects that impact their lives.
The parliament would then have the power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
The referendum is expected to be held between October and December.
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