The time has come to do things differently.

That is why Greenpeace has formally accepted the generous open invitation contained in the Uluru Statement From the Heart, to walk forward together as part of a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

When I read the Uluru statement I am struck by the poetic gravitas of the language and by the generosity of the political offering.

The statement speaks across the great spaces of our continent, presenting this invitation to every Australian:

"We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future."

The historical gravity of the proposition is immense; despite all that has happened in our country the prospect is there for us to come together in a more just commonwealth.

And what the statement also outlines is a pragmatic pathway to getting there: the creation of a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament; a historic process of truth telling and then the overdue process of Makaratta - agreement making among the peoples of Australia.

The vision of the Uluru statement creates an opening for all Australians to participate in an ideal of greater justice. We all get that bit bigger in a more just Australia.

As Professor Megan Davis has said "the Uluru Statement was purposefully issued to the people, and not to politicians for a reason" because it is we who hold the power to unlock the constitution.

Ultimately it is within the power of the people of Australia to deliver on the promise of our nation.

The need for the kind of approach outlined in the Uluru statement is plain.

Our current political system does not give fair or effective voice to First Nations Peoples.

The consequence is that laws and regulations are made about Indigenous people, with scant regard to their rights, opinions, expertise - or the internal sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander polities.

The result is a cycle of injustice, dissatisfaction - and ineffective policy making.

Meanwhile, the emancipative ambition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is often frustrated by decision-makers who are deaf to reasonable demands and the wisdom of lived experience.

As a nation, we are knotted up by the legacy of our colonial past, lacking the institutional means to weave a tapestry for a more just and equitable society in the future.

Prior to Greenpeace I worked as a native title lawyer and I witnessed first-hand the bewilderment and frustration of my clients.

Unpacking the legacy of colonisation and invasion and doing the work of shared nation building was not served by electoral cycles.

Even the best intended ministers were hamstrung by the lack of stable footings for the necessary work.

It is 15 years since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was abolished by prime minister John Howard - pre-empting even his own government's review into the effectiveness of that body.

The government-appointed National Indigenous Council set up in 2004 lasted just four years.

The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples was set up independent of government in 2009, but was starved of funding and went into voluntary administration in 2019.

Constitutional recognition as put forward in the Statement of the Heart is essential to end the tragic merry-go-round of national Indigenous representation being wilfully destroyed or starved of the ability to operate.

The Voice to Parliament would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a genuine say in the creation of the laws, policies and programs that impact upon their rights.

The shift in our nation's institutional arrangements offered by the the Uluru Statement contains the seeds for a transformation in how all of us Australians care for our beautiful shared country, creating new opportunities for the expression of the interdependence of indigenous rights and ecological values.

There are profound implications for our environment and for the existential challenge of the climate emergency.

Greenpeace's mission is to secure a world capable of nurturing life in all of its magnificent diversity - a vision can only be achieved with a more fair and just world, putting people and nature at the heart of decision-making.

It is a point that Thomas Mayor, a Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country, and a tireless advocate for the Uluru Statement made strongly when he noted that the Statement From the Heart is "important for the climate change struggle too".

And as Mayor wryly observed that "I think if Indigenous people had a voice in decision-making a long time ago, I don't think we would have been so reckless with how we treat the environment."

Already in Australia there have been conspicuous successes, including Indigenous protected areas, joint management of national parks and the Indigenous ranger program. A flourishing environment is ultimately a precondition for the recognition of Indigenous rights, and for all humanity. The risks to Indigenous societies from environmental degradation, whether from the destruction of nature, industrial farming, pollution and severe climate damage, are starkly apparent.

The twinning of Australia's rapid transformation to clean energy with renewed determination to salve the legacy of colonisation and invasion are central to the future for all of us who live in this magnificent southern continent.

Truly, the time has come.