On Defeating the Indigenous Voice By James Reed
The media blitz is beginning, pushing the Indigenous Voice constitutional referendum. While there is a direct counter-attack approach, seen in viewing the move as a power drive by the elites behind the scene to gain even more control, and breakup Australia, there is an indirect strategy as well. This is suggested by the claim that the Voice will only be advising on issues directly related to Aboriginal issues, such as housing, childcare and land rights. However, areas such as defence and taxation will be out of bounds. That is where the champions of the “yes” case need to be pushed to generate a backlash from the elites. Issues such as taxation, national defence, and especially Centrelink benefits, do relate to indigenous people. Thus, they should push onto areas that the elites do not want them to, or at least be motivated to do so. It is much like the referendum on the Republic, where the elites are loath to meet the populations’ desire of having a peoples’ elected president. Thus, if the referendum looks like getting out of control, it may get shut down. So, let’s work to shut it down.
“The Indigenous voice to parliament will advise on issues such as domestic violence, housing, childcare, land rights and other policies that have a “direct effect” on Aboriginal Australians - but not in areas such as defence or taxation.
As supporters of an Indigenous voice to parliament launch a nationwide advertising campaign on Monday to promote the yes vote for a referendum to be held in the current term of parliament, Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said the body would advise on issues of direct relevance to Aboriginal people. It might also scrutinise relevant bills being proposed by political parties before they are introduced to parliament.
The legislation could belong to any political party or independent MP, not just the government of the day.
“If the voice is advising parliament, then it’s advising parliament,” Ms Burney said.
She said there was a clear difference between the voice and the abolished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission: while ATSIC allocated money and delivered programs, the voice would be an advisory body to parliament.
“Things like land rights legislation, things like native title, things like cultural water allocations, things like, for example, childcare,” she told Sky News.
“It won’t be on things like taxation or defence and some of the other nonsense that’s been spouted in the last few weeks.
“It will be absolutely on issues that affect directly the lives of First Nations people and one of the keys for this is focusing particularly on Closing the Gap targets.”
In an interview with The Australian, Ms Burney on Sunday expanded on the remit: “For example, domestic violence. We’re going to have a separate First Nations strategy. We’ve also got to be very conscious we’ve got the Coalition of Peaks (bodies). The role of the voice is not to usurp any of that but to provide advice to parliament on things specifically to do with First Nations people.
“Think about housing. Within that, there’s a component of decisions to be made around First Nations housing. It’s not like this thing (Peter) Dutton’s saying where it’s everything that affects Aboriginal people, it’s where there is a specific impact.”
The yes case advertisements, which will be run across TV, social media and online platforms, feature Indigenous playwright and actor Trevor Jamieson and are part of a broader “History is calling” campaign from the Uluru Statement Group, which has received strong financial backing from some of Australia’s largest companies.
Sky News host Chris Kenny says the Indigenous Voice to Parliament is “not about race”. “There is no race … we… are the human race,” he said. “This is about Indigenous people, this is about the descendants of the original inhabitants of this land. "We took their land …
The advertisement features Jamieson telling children a story around a campfire about how Indigenous Australians achieved a voice to parliament with the help of people across the country.
His story is woven with scenes in which non-Indigenous Australians tell their children why they voted in favour of the change.
Megan Davis, co-chair of the Uluru Dialogue, told The Australian’s Growth Agenda: “We hope this ad will encourage Australians to learn more and support a First Nations voice to parliament.’’
The advertisement was developed after extensive consultation with a large group of diverse people from across the nation.
Professor Davis said the list of things to avoid from their perspective was universally agreed. “We don’t like cliches. We don’t like dots. We don’t like the Opera House with things projected on it. We don’t like boomerangs. We were very opinionated about things not being cliched,” she said.
Uluru statement leader Roy Ah-See said the launch of the ad was the start of a bigger campaign in the lead-up to the referendum.
“We need to shift and we need to move it along now and start to engage with non-Aboriginal Australia,” he said. “And we need to engage in a positive way, rather than using stuff that divides us.
The Voice referendum ‘yes’ campaign is launching a nationwide advertising blitz. The advertisements feature Indigenous playwright and actor Trevor Jamieson.
“We have to stay upbeat, we have to be positive. So yes, you can see a lot more positive campaigning coming and you’ll see a lot more upbeat messages of hope.”
In Canberra, 50 Australians who form the Albanese government’s referendum working and engagement groups – including Marcia Langton, Tom Calma, Professor Davis, Noel Pearson, Mick Gooda and Tanya Hosch – will formally meet at Parliament House on Thursday to discuss details of the voice and the timing of the referendum.
After the Queen’s death delayed the gathering’s first meeting, a 20-member working group will help the government finalise best timing to conduct a referendum and the constitutional amendment and question put to the Australian people and discuss what campaigns and messages are needed to succeed.
The larger engagement group, which incorporates members of the working group, will try to build understanding, awareness and support for the referendum and have representatives from land councils, local governments and community organisations.
The final Indigenous voice co-design process report by Professor Langton and Professor Calma recommended it be made up of 24 members, including five representing remote regions and one member representing the significant number of Torres Strait Islanders living on the mainland.
Ms Burney was less prescriptive, committing only to representation of Torres Strait Islanders and young people.
The Langton-Calma report also recommended voice members be able to engage early with MPs before bills are introduced to parliament.
“What seems to be lost on everyone is at the end of the day it will be the parliament that will determine the shape and the role of the voice,” Ms Burney said.
“It’s up to how the parliament wants to use the advisory body and what the advisory body feels is appropriate. It’s not up to me to say ‘This is what it will be’, it’s up to me to consult, listen to the views of the Prime Minister, cabinet, parliament, the views of the Australian people both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal and various sectors – we’ve got really good support from the business sector, the faith sector has been fabulous. The union sector.
“It’s about reaching out, and not getting ahead of ourselves.”
While the Albanese government has promised to hold a referendum on whether to enshrine a voice to parliament in the Constitution in this term of parliament, Ms Burney on Sunday would not commit to a specific timeframe.
The debate to date has featured criticism of the plan by Indigenous senators Jacinta Nampijinpa Price of the Country Liberal Party and the Greens’ Lidia Thorpe, as well as concerns over the detail of just how it will operate.”
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