The Voice Referendum

The Garage
#1

G’day,

The second referendum of my lifetime, and it’s been voted down just like the first.

I think there was some absolutely disgraceful “No” campaigning, with so much disinformation attempting to cause panic, but also the “Yes” campaign was flawed, with too little information available for too long.

I voted Yes, as I felt that whilst what was being proposed probably wouldn’t at first make a difference, it would lead the way to something that could be improved upon with time to hopefully help to really resolve the issues facing First Nation people in this country.

If you are a First Nations in Australia you’re more likely to die from childhood diseases, to have poor education and health, to end up in jail. Giving them a Voice to Parliament, so it’s not just a bunch of white people making decisions for them, could only help.

But it seems I’m very much outnumbered in this belief based on the 39.7% national Yes vote.

Worst part of it all, is the division it’s now caused…

I would hate to be a First Nations person in Australia today…

cheers

cosmic

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#2

My wife explained it to our kids the other day…

If you are at a meeting, and for example you are making a decision about where to build ramps to help people in wheelchairs access your building, or what disabled toilet features to instal, and you look around the room and there is no one present who is in a wheelchair - you have the wrong people at that meeting.

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#3

I imagine a not insignificant number of NO voters were undecided. If voting was not compulsory I think NO would have still won but by a smaller margin.

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#4

I was sad to see it fail. It didn’t change the actual fundamental structure of your government. It just acknowledged the unique character of Indigenous Australia.

Of course, my birth nation still owes the Cherokee Nation a delegate in Congress which it promised in a treaty 200 years ago, and such treaties supposedly have the force of law. So…

Settler colonialists gonna do settler colonialism, I guess.

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