THE lack of political goodwill and leadership in the lead-up to and immediately after the Voice referendum was extraordinary.
We were told the cynical lie that constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through a Voice would separate Australians by race. In truth, it would have shown that we are proud of this country’s 60,000-plus years of history and that we want to grow and heal as a nation.
We were told a constitutional Voice should not come to fruition because it didn’t have 100 per cent buy in from First Australians. What a silly proposition that defies common sense and the results from individual voting booths show what we always knew to be the case. There was strong support for a Voice in First Peoples communities.
We were also told that it was Anthony Albanese’s referendum. This could not have been further from the truth. It was prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten who, in 2015, made a bipartisan decision to appoint a referendum council. The council’s job was to consult with Indigenous Australians and the broader community about how a path to constitutional recognition could be achieved.
This process culminated in an invitation from First Nations people to us, the people, asking us to walk with them. The invitation was superbly articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Last year, their request to ask the Australian people to allow an outdated Constitution to be amended finally wasn’t ignored.
With every new analysis of the referendum that appears, excuses for our failure to make sensible and much-needed change continue to roll in. It was such a small ask. Concocted arguments and a fear campaign are evidence of a superiority complex reminiscent of colonial Australia that has again played a huge role in our lack of progress on reconciliation.
While trying to come to terms with the result, I’ll continue to come back to the fact that millions of Australians wanted to walk together with our First Peoples. Millions of Australians were listening and still are.
I cannot overstate my respect and admiration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have reacted to the result of the referendum with such dignity after such a challenging time.
If you haven’t read the open letter to the Prime Minister and members of the Commonwealth Parliament from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, community members and organisations who supported the “yes” case, please do. It explains what has taken place during this moment in our history better than I ever could. I guess the reason why is that it comes from the heart, just as the Uluru Statement did.
Karen Smith
Swan Hill
