Thomas Mayo

is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man, assistant national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia and author of six books, including Dear Son – Letters and reflections from First Nations fathers and sons and the bestselling children’s book Finding Our Heart.

By this author

podcast October 23, 2023

Thomas Mayo on what follows the Voice

Author and contributor to The Saturday Paper Thomas Mayo on what went wrong, who’s to blame and what comes next.

podcast October 11, 2023

The Fight for a Voice: Inside the case for ‘Yes’

How was the campaign built? And can it really overcome the huge challenge in time for Saturday’s vote?

News October 21, 2023

Analysis: The movement that follows the Voice

Although the Voice referendum was lost, and despite the racist vitriol it unleashed, the movement for Indigenous rights and recognition has grown.

podcast June 29, 2023

Thomas Mayo on the Voice, the polls and the critics

The author The Voice to Parliament Handbook with Kerry O’Brien and board member of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, Thomas Mayo, on whether the ‘Yes’ campaign message is cutting through and if it needs to be clearer.

Comment June 24, 2023

A very simple ‘Yes’

“With the fearmongering tactics from sections of the ‘No’ campaign intensifying, the referendum later this year is becoming a question of courage.”

podcast April 27, 2023

Just how ‘elite’ are the people behind the Voice?

Union organiser and member of the referendum working group, Thomas Mayo, on the loudest voices against the Voice.

Comment April 15, 2023

The right side of history

“Recently, speaking at a school, I asked the teachers to imagine how they would feel telling children in the future that in 2023 Australia voted ‘No’ at the Voice referendum. I asked them to imagine how it would feel and it brought me …”

Comment October 06, 2018

Getting the people behind the Uluru statement

“We carefully considered the history of our struggle, the many broken promises, and the way the Constitution and political system excluded us. We learnt from the way our representative bodies have been repealed in the past. We contemplated why so many …”