Editorial: Saying ‘Yes’ to the Voice

The Voice is a matter of conscience, not division.

Australia was not ‘terra nullius’ when England claimed it 200 years ago. It held a rich tapestry of people and culture, language, lore and relationship to Country. 

This was not recognised by the invaders; rather it was the Indigenous Australians they sought to destroy as they claimed their lands and attacked their culture.

They did this in a multitude of ways, from displacing people from their lands, to massacres and taking away their children. The inevitable outcome is that today our First Australians continue to suffer from these injustices across the board in education, health, housing, lower life expectancy and over-representation in our prisons.

Closing the Gap 

The Closing the Gap agreement is one way that governments have sought to respond to these disadvantages yet, as the Productivity Commission recently made clear, the government continues to fail to partner with and consult with Indigenous communities.

The proposed Voice to Parliament is a way to move forward, as the outcome of the 2017 National Constitutional Convention that produced the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was the ‘largest consensus of First Nations peoples on a proposal for substantive recognition in Australian history’ (ulurustatement.org).

It is an opportunity for representatives of First Australians to have an influence in the way the government will address the ongoing issues that disadvantage First Nations people.

But for non-Indigenous Australians it is something so much more. It is an opportunity to recognise First Australians, to acknowledge the wrongs of the last 200 years. It is the chance to take a small action towards healing the division. We can say unequivocally that we want to move forward together.

To vote ‘Yes’ is to recognise that this country is prepared to strive for equality – for everyone.

Aslan Shand, deputy editor

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