By Alistair Gray
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked Australians to vote in the upcoming referendum on the following question :-
"A Proposed Law to alter the Constitution to recognise the First People of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?"
In Issue 80 of The LOCAL – 24/08/22, I wrote :-
"We must all learn about creating an Indigenous Voice to parliament and what it means for you and the future of Australia. It is a watershed moment and we must participate in respectful discussions in the weeks ahead. Despite the lack of clarity, a lot of work over many years will set the base for us to move forward. Now is the time for the government to take a leadership role in removing doubts and concerns and lead the nation to a positive outcome - one country, one people where everyone's voice gets heard".
The performance of our politicians and the media has been very disappointing, with discussions in many cases far from respectful. It seems as if only the loudest voice wins. Unfortunately, there is bullying. The ABC propaganda machine is in overdrive, with the other leading TV channels following suit to support a YES vote demonstrated by overly vigorous questioning of anyone who opposes an affirmative view. At times, some have even suggested a NO vote is racist. Where is the respective discussion and being open to listening and learning from each other's point of view?
Before I go on, I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land where I write today, the Djindubari people of the Gubbi Gubbi Nation, and pay my respects to elder's past, present and emerging. I also would like to acknowledge the early settlers, those who worked hard, toiled the land and brought knowledge, skills and wealth to Australia and those who made it what it is today. And to acknowledge the new Australians who have introduced us to different cultures and experiences helping to create a diverse modern and innovative nation. And we must not forget and therefore remember, the many Australians who have laid down their lives to protect our country to ensure we all enjoy the freedom of free speech and democracy we have today.
I greatly respect our First Nations peoples and strongly support their recognition in the constitution. However I see a widening gap, with concerns in our community about where we are heading. We acknowledge our land's traditional owners and I respect that, but why shouldn't we also acknowledge all those others who have made our country so great? In that way, we are building one country, one people and not one country, two people and a divided nation.
There are many lessons to learn from the New Zealand example, both good and bad. For example, there has been a significant transfer of wealth and power to the Māori people through the parliamentary process and litigation. These changes have created a divide in the country that was never there before.
Yes, a Voice is much needed. Unfortunately, endless governments have failed to listen and act. And like it or not, there remains active conscious and unconscious discrimination against indigenous people. Everyone is afraid to talk about it with discrimination issues hidden and everyone becoming defensive at the suggestion of bias. Why else would First Nation people's education, health, housing and law and order outcomes be so bad? Resources are not getting to where they are needed. For example, a couple of years ago, I was told how indigenous students each get a grant paid to the school to support their specific needs: books, extra tutoring, etc. However, rather than assessing individual needs, schools accumulated these funds and instead spent the grant funding on new playground equipment. When taken up with the state minister, he said that how the school spent the budget was over to the principal. A total failure of a well-intended system and to those students desperately needing help. In other words, a cry for help is not being listened to.
The bottom line is that a lot of action at the state level is required, where they are close to the action and have the power to make a difference. It needs single-minded focus, a purging of blockages and bureaucrats and delivery of measurable outcomes. After all, it is only in relatively recent times that this has become a federal issue.
There have been many arguments within the First Nations community about the value of the voice, with the fundamental goal being to establish a treaty with the Australian government that guarantees the rights of the First Nations people. It is hard to see that succeeding at present, as in Australia, we don't have a Bill of Rights without clearly establishing such rights for all Australians. Maybe we will do that when we become a republic and rewrite the existing constitution to reflect the needs of the new republic.
The question is, is including a voice in the constitution the right way forward? Will it deliver better outcomes or add further bureaucracy, unforeseen problems and cost? Already constitutional lawyers are raising concerns. The intent is to create one voice to represent the Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders and create a platform for reconciliation. The voice will enable Makarrata (the coming together after a struggle), a treaty and truth-telling and allowing self-determination as set out in the "The Uluru Statement from the Heart" (https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/). Time will only tell if Australians are prepared to enable change and willing to start working on correcting the wrongs of the past.
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