The Voice Referendum Debate in the Streets By James Reed
Here is an interesting human-interest story for the NO side on the Voice referendum. It involves a confrontation between an Aboriginal man, who supported NO, and some whites who were campaigning for the YES side, with a table at a supermarket in the far north NSW town of Mullumbimby. I am not exactly sure of what the Aboriginal man’s view is, but it seems to be something along the lines that the YES position is offensive to his tribe, as being an ancient people in this land, recognition in a constitution is somewhat offensive. I don’t agree, but accept the point. He also has the good sense to see how the New Class ethnic/race elites are behind this, what he calls coconuts, black/brown on the outside but white inside.
I bet the whites who were manning the YES table got a surprise by this!
“A bitter row has broken out between an Indigenous man voting No to the Voice to parliament and a group of 'whitie' Yes23 campaign workers.
Footage posted online shows the man arguing with three volunteers manning a Yes23 campaign stall set up outside a grocery store in the far north NSW town of Mullumbimby.
The man starts by explaining his version of what happened with the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the document that came out of a 2017 convention which makes the case for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to be enshrined in the Constitution.
'The Elders already had a plan and the plan was the Commonwealth Government needs to treaty with us, they (the government) didn't want to do that,' the man says.
One of the volunteers can be heard objecting that South Australia has a treaty with First Nations people.
'Listen,' the man snaps back.
'They (Australian governments) didn't want a treaty, they wanted to do it their way and the way they want to do it is backwards.'
The man argued he was already 'a sovereign person of this country' as his ancestors 'have been here for 1,000 years'
'What do you whities want to do, is you say "we want to acknowledge you (Indigenous people)".
'We want to recognise you and what we would like to do for you is we would like to add you to our constitution to make me Australian.
'That is insane, that is illegal.'
A female voice off camera shouts: 'It's an insult'.
One of the Yes23 campaigners insists: 'Everything's going to change'.
'Is it going to change?' the unseen woman wonders.
The man refuses to be sidetracked.
'Vote no and come back to the table,' he insists.
'What if they don't go back to the table though?' asks a Yes23 advocate.
'If they don't – guess what? I will still carry on my culture, when my children raise up they will know their language, when you are dead and gone and I am dead and gone my people will still be here,' the man replies.
'In the Uluru Statement you've got Voice, Treaty, truth-telling, all those things,' one of the campaign workers objects, even though Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the proposal as 'just an advisory body'.
The man claims the Uluru Statement was 'manipulated'.
'The government came in with the Aboriginals who are connected to the government by their organisations, if you're a land council, if you're an organisation, if you're a Pty ltd you get funding off the governments to run programs,' he said.
'That's how it works, I call those people coconuts, they're black on the outside but they're white on the inside.
'They sold our people out because money will always make them go selfish and money, too much of it will always make them greedy. Nothing's going to change.'
The Yes23 campaigners object that the Voice will lead to meaningful change.
'It's based on trust,' the man says.
'For the last 232 years the government's had opportunities.
'So, I look at that government's behaviour and from that I go "wow, clearly I cannot trust you guys" because of the government and their failure to provide good governments'.
The man said governments have been not just failing 'his people'.
'Look at the cost of living, look at the housing crisis. They are providing bad governance at the moment, our government and it's about good governance,' he said.
'I think the Labor government is providing better government than the Liberals,' one of the Yes23 volunteers replies.
'I think we should destroy both parties, bring that system down, that democracy that came from Europe... bring it down and have a transitioning from coal to gas, what a circus, what an absolute circus,' the man retorts.
'Then we will bring a circular government nominated by the citizens of the land white, black, refugees, migrants and create a circular government.'
Undeterred a Yes23 worker tries to convince the man again.
'Don't you think this is what the Voice is trying to do with Aboriginal people?
'It is trying to talk to all groups of nations all around Australia and come up with solutions?'
'How are they going to do that?' the man asks.
'No, it's divisive.
'It (the Voice) hasn't come from the government though it has come from Elders of First Nations peoples,' a Yes23 worker says.
'No, you're wrong,' the man bluntly replies.
'Who cares if they went and sat out in the desert and created Uluru statement. 'What's that do for my people? Absolutely nothing.
'But your people were at that gathering,' the volunteer interjects.
'And we said "no",' the man replies.
'There were only two groups that walked out (of the First Nations National Constitutional Convention), the rest said Yes,' the Yes23 worker fires back.
She adds: 'The lady overseeing this Yes campaign is a local Aboriginal woman.'
'Yeah, yeah good for her,' the man replies.
'I don't know her. I don't know her songlines and out of respect for her I can't talk about her.
'I can talk about here on country where I belong.'
He then tells the stall workers he is going but 'wanted to tell you how I feel'.
'I wanted to say that sign (Yes23) and that poster is offensive to my people,' he said.”
Comments