In Always Was, Always Will Be, bestselling author Thomas Mayo investigates ‘what's next?’ for reconciliation and justice in Australia after the failed October 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum.
Since the referendum, supporters and volunteers have been asking for guidance as to how to continue to support Indigenous recognition. Mayo, a leader of the Yes 23 campaign and co-author of the bestselling The Voice to Parliament Handbook, has penned a new book to answer that question.
Always Was, Always Will Be is essential reading for those people who want to keep the positive momentum going and the number of allies growing. It’s for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are ready to do everything they can to close the gap.
On writing the book Mayo said: ‘The book starts with the ingredients for hope, it will cover the lessons from the past, and ultimately, Always Was, Always Will Beis about the future we want to see – one where there is justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.’
For the thousands of people who have been feeling sad, empty and powerless since last October, Always Was, Always Will Be aims to be a positive rallying cry. This book will map the path toward next steps on how to create a fairer Australia.
About the Author
Thomas Mayo is a Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country in Darwin. As an Islander growing up on the mainland, he learned to hunt traditional foods with his father and to island dance from the Darwin community of Torres Strait Islanders. In high school, Thomas’s English teacher suggested he should become a writer. He didn’t think then that he would become one of the first ever Torres Strait Islander authors to have a book published for the general trade. Instead, he became a wharf labourer from the age of seventeen, until he became a union official for the Maritime Union of Australia in his early thirties. Quietly spoken in character, Thomas found his voice on the wharves.
As he gained the skills of negotiation and organising in the union movement, he applied those skills to advancing the rights of Indigenous peoples, becoming a signatory to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a tireless campaigner. Following the Uluru Convention, Thomas was entrusted to carry the sacred canvas of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. He then embarked on an eighteen-month journey around the country to garner support for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations voice, and a Makarrata Commission for truth-telling and agreement-making or treaties. Thomas is the author of Finding The Heart of The Nation, Dear Son and the children’s books - Finding Our Heart and Freedom Day.
