I cannot comprehend waking up in a country that has said ‘No’ to the Voice. A country of over 96 per cent non-Indigenous people who have told this country’s original people that they do not recognise them as First Peoples who walked and cared for Country for over 60, 000 years.
I cannot imagine the pain of those racist wounds being reopened, of the mandate of white voice being seen as the all-encompassing elixir of cultural dilution. I cannot imagine the pain for those elders who were taken from their parents, as they are taken again – this time by the rest of us. I cannot imagine the shame to be the only Commonwealth country who hasn’t signed a treaty with its Indigenous people. I cannot bear the thought that the first step towards Treaty in this current political process – the Voice – would be gone.
That’s why I believe every non-Indigenous Australian needs to vote ‘Yes’. It is about recognition and agency for Indigenous Australians, for non-Indigenous people like myself it’s the least I can do to right the racist wrongs. It’s how I can take responsibility for what happened in this country, and what continues to happen: overrepresentation in our prison system and in poverty statistics; poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancy. The political system that allows policy makers to legislate without input and insight directly from Indigenous communities continues to retraumatise and criminalise Indigenous Australians. It’s not fair. And as a country that leans solidly into the concept of fairness, ‘Yes’ is the fairest solution.
The majority of Indigenous Australians support the Voice, 83 per cent in fact. The idea was created in 2017 by thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, from a range of perspectives, and became the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It states ‘We seek reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.’
The generosity of that statement reminds us that this is a process, a kind of restorative justice that returns self-determination to Indigenous Australians, and a framework for our system – and for non-Indigenous Australians – to address the harms of colonisation and move towards healing our nation.
I am cognisant that there are some voices within the Indigenous community that are saying ‘No’ or are unsure. Around 17 per cent. It’s part of a conversation that is both radical and nuanced. That conversation does not belong to non-Indigenous Australia. It is an important ongoing discussion within Aboriginal communities. But thanks to the Murdoch media, that conversation has been colonised to push Dutton’s racist agenda; an ex-cop who wants to keep his boot on the neck of Indigenous Australia (metaphorically speaking of course).
Like the ‘Yes’ vote for the same sex marriage plebiscite, the Voice will profoundly impact the people for whom it is intended and have little to no impact on the lives of people it isn’t designed for. That means non-Indigenous people’s lives won’t be adversely affected by Indigenous recognition. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – our lives will be enriched.
Thomas Mayor and Kerry O’Brien have created a book called Voice to Parliament – and I recommend reading it. While disinformation is off and running it’s important to come back to what we are actually talking about.
The Voice isn’t about unequal treatment. ‘Its sole purpose is to decide whether to write into our national rule book – the Constitution – that because of their occupation of the continent as a continuous civilisation for over 60, 000 years and because of the deep injustice of their colonial dispossession, Indigenous peoples have a right to be heard through a Voice to national Parliament.’ (Mayor & O’Brien)
It’s about being recognised and having a say in legislation and policy that impacts Indigenous people. We’ve seen what bad policy does: Stolen Generations, the 2007 Aboriginal Intervention, the 544 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the Royal Commission.
A referendum must approve a change with a nationwide majority, as well as majorities in at least four of six states. This requirement of a ‘double majority’, plus Australians’ inherent constitutional conservatism, has meant that only eight of 44 proposed changes have been successful since 1901. The most successful referendum in our history, however, was in 1967 with an affirmative vote of 93 per cent that empowered government to make laws in respect of Indigenous people in an attempt to address inequalities.
Now Indigenous Australians would like a say in those laws. If you are a non-Indigenous Australian, I ask that when you see this referendum statement:
‘A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
Do you approve this proposed alteration?’
That you please vote ‘Yes’, because in the end, in the greatest irony of all, it will be non-Indigenous Australians who decide if our Indigenous community has a Voice.
If you want to be part of the ‘Yes’ campaign – sign up on yes23.com.au and choose Richmond.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
