Letter to The Editor - It is reasonable and not ‘absurd’ for the Government to defend ‘equal civic rights’.

to THE AGE
     The significance of the Government’s decision to reject a first people’s ‘voice’ to Parliament is being misrepresented (Letters, 30/10). Aboriginal leaders already have and will continue to have the means ‘of expressing their voice and vision on behalf of their people’ and will certainly be listened to by governments fully aware that most Australians wish our Aboriginal fellow citizens well.
     Nor is the decision ‘a silencing of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders’. They remain as free as ever to publish their views and promote policies of their choice. Moreover, it is anachronistic to argue that ‘this is colonial politics’ or motivated by ‘white paternalism’. Finally, it is reasonable and not ‘absurd’ for the Government to defend ‘equal civic rights’. That is one of the core issues.
     NJ, Belgrave, Vic