#Uluru Statement from the Heart

[cinnamonchaos]

for anyone in Australia, please do some reading beyond just the No Campaign and conservative media! There is so so much misinformation about what The Voice actually is and what it does.

Also remember - there is no 'progressive no'. We may agree that the government hasn't done enough, that a treaty should come first, and so much more action is needed. But voting no is slamming the door shut. It's not progressives winning, it's conservatives and racists and self-serving politicians. A no vote isn't progressive, it won't encourage the government to do more. If you think that the Lib party wants a no result so they can implement a better alternative, you've been deceived. There is no 'no, but because I want more action and a treaty' option. The yes will be the indicator of this, but a no will be taken as 'no action is needed' and 'we don't believe we need to recognise our country's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people'.

VOTE YES! 🖤💛❤️

[ancestorsalive]

"I acknowledge indigenous Australian’s connection to land and their sovereignty. I pay respect to the old stories of the land on which I live and work. The indigenous people of the world hold the old stories, as they are embedded in their traditional knowledge. Let’s look after the old stories. We need them more than ever."

OUR CAMPAIGN FOR A REFERENDUM ON AN INDIGENOUS CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION THROUGH A VOICE TO PARLIAMENT NOW HAS A DESTINATION. ALL AUSTRALIANS CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE JOURNEY. You can find out more here: https://fromtheheart.com.au/

[innervoiceartblog]

[mirrorofliterature]

why you should support the voice: an imperfect step forward

australia’s next referendum will be about changing the constitution to give the federal government the power to create a First Nations voice, which will have NO legislative or executive power and will simply be able to provide APPROPRIATE ADVICE on RELEVANT legislation.

first of all: I am not a First Nations person, but a supporter and ally. any first nations person residing in australia - your feedback (critical or otherwise) is welcomed. sovereignty was never ceded.

the voice will not solve all of the issues in australia, but it is a step forward to healing and restoring relations between First Nations Australians and all other Australians. it is also not really that drastic - all the constitutional amendment will do is give the voice a constitutional footing so it cannot be swept away by hostile governments, like ATSIC was.

I have studied the voice and the uluru statement extensively, both from a sociological and legal perspective. I think that it is worthy of support, not because it is a panacea but because australia for too long has done nothing. hopefully this will help amplify first nations voices - because when it comes to issues concerning first nations people, first nations people are the best equipped to solve them (see grandmothers against removals, for example).

anyway.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

At this uncertain moment, I offer a bloody family saga from the frontier in the hope of us one day reaching the ultimate goal set at Uluru: the coming together after struggle, Makarrata.

"Killing for Country: A Family History" - David Marr

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

Victoria will become the first Australian jurisdiction to begin negotiating treaties with First Nations groups next year, after a historic deal was brokered to allow traditional owners to enter into interim agreements during negotiations.

[rf-times]

A couple days ago, Australia had a referendum for our constitution to recognise Indigenous peoples (who have been on this land for over 60,000 years) and for an advisory council known as the "Voice to Parliament" to be created which would be comprised of Indigenous people representing their interests. It was based on the Uluru Statement of the Heart written by Indigenous elders. Over the past year there has been a horrific media onslaught of racist lies and fearmongering and the evil slogan "If you don't know, vote no" encouraging ignorant people to remain ignorant and consider learning about the Voice to be "too complex". Some Indigenous people were tokenised for the no cause, like Jacinta Price who claimed that there's been no negative impact of colonisation and only positive effects (her community ended up voting Yes and heavily criticising her) There was a small "progressive no" faction who believed that the Voice wasn't going far enough and we should fight for treaty first but ultimately the No voters were operating from an anti-Indigenous, racist perspective, spite and ignorance. Over 80% of Indigenous people wanted the Voice and every Indigenous land council in the Northern Territory were in support of the Voice. I was in a bubble of lefties, I had worried that No would pass but I did not anticipate how badly the Yes vote would lose. Not a single state voted majority yes and nationally fewer than 40% voted Yes. It's been a horrific time for Indigenous people, who have had to endure the media circus and now the continual reiteration that this country, built on colonisation and genocide, does not want to recognise them or give them a Voice.

[sydneysageivashkov]

it is a dark night but. the absolute "are you fucking stupid" tone in albo's voice when he replied to a journalist asking if the labor party was still committed to uluru statement from the heart in full was a tiny little spark in the darkness

[fourmsandasilentq]

A STATEMENT FROM INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS WHO SUPPORTED THE VOICE REFERENDUM

A Week of Silence for The Voice

https://x.com/thomasmayo23/status/1713352710588878944?s=20

Text copied below:

Recognition in the constitution of the descendants of the original and continuing owners of Australia would have been a great advance for Australians. Alas, the majority have rejected it.

This is a bitter irony. That people who have only been on this continent for 235 years would refuse to recognise those whose home this land has been for 60,000 and more years is beyond reason. It was never in the gift of these newcomers to refuse recognition to the true owners of Australia. The referendum was a chance for newcomers to show a long-refused grace and gratitude and to acknowledge that the brutal dispossession of our people underwrote their every advantage in this country.

For more than six years, we have explained to our nation why the Voice was our great hope to achieve real change for our families and communities.

To the Australians who supported us in this vote we thank you sincerely. You comprise many millions of Australians of love and goodwill. We know you wanted a better future for Australia, and to put the colonial past behind us by choosing belated recognition and justice.

We thank the Prime Minister and his government for having the conviction to take this referendum to the Australian people at our request. We thank him for his advocacy and all parliamentarians who did the same, including members of the Teals, Greens, Nationals and independents who stood by us. We pay particular respect to the Liberal parliamentarians who bravely advocated for the voice.

We also thank our fellow Australians from all sectors of the community, including multicultural, faith, professional, business, creative and sporting organisations. To the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets, knocked on doors and made over a million phone calls, thank you for your love and support.

Our deep chagrin at this result does not in any way diminish our pride and gratefulness for the stand they had the moral courage to take in this cause now lost. We know we have them by our side in the ongoing cause for justice and fairness in our own land.

Now is not the time to dissect the reasons for this tragic outcome. This will be done in the weeks, years and decades to come. Now is the time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider the consequence of this outcome.

Much will be asked about the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result. The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question.

To our people we say: do not shed tears. This rejection was never for others to issue. The truth is that rejection was always ours to determine. The truth is that we offered this recognition and it has been refused. We now know where we stand in this our own country. Always was. Always will be.

We will not rest long. Pack up the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Fly our flags low. Talk not of recognition and reconciliation. Only of justice and the rights of our people in our own country. Things that no one else can gift us, but to which we are entitled by fact that this is the country of our birth and inheritance.

Re-gather our strength and resolve, and when we determine a new direction for justice and our rights, let us once again unite. Let us convene in due course to carefully consider our path forward.

We are calling A Week of Silence from tonight (Saturday 14th October) to grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance. We will not be commenting further on the result at this time.

We will be lowering our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to half-mast for the week of silence to acknowledge this result. We ask others to do the same.

[photo ID: the Torres Strait Islander flag, Australian flag, and Aboriginal flag being flown at half mast at AIS and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge today 15th October 2023. It is the day after the Referendum was defeated.]

[factcheckandchill]

Very Angry Commentary on the State of Race Relations in Australia

In 2017 the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), whose raison d'etre is to take action against injustice related to racial discrimination, recommended that Australia “accelerate its efforts to implement the self-determination demands of Indigenous peoples, as set out in the “Uluru statement from the heart”.

The state of the rights and quality of life of indigenous people in Australia should be taken as an international embarrassment and action taken immediately to correct it. Whether it is a voice or a treaty, the status quo cannot continue.

And it's not like you can tell people they're being racist here, there is a semi-allergic reaction to even slightly being told you are a racist or racially insensitive. White people, get over yourself. we cannot correct the injustices that benefit you and only you, the injustices that are actively quashing everyone without drawing attention to them.

Do you get it?

Australia's image in the world literally depends on this bare minimum action called 'the voice'. Do you care that this will impact how Australians are viewed and treated out in the world? And more importantly, whether or not the quality of life of people who come from indigenous backgrounds.

If people are so reliant on their racism to feel a sense of worth in this country, then they don't care. They are so self-important that they don't care that the lack of voice, treaty, or adequate representation is killing children from preventable heart disease, it's pushing teenagers and young adults into impossible situations, it is putting children who could have had a different outcome behind bars because the same empathy that is given to upper-class white kids isn't extended to them.

Yet those racists (white or not) who believe that all of that injustice is justified continue to have a voice, representation, and power in society. Why are they allowed this?

Australia's brand of racism is so unique and impenetrable. refusing to be educated and would rather bring harm to itself than concede the imaginary supremacy that racists and their cronies from other ethnicities believe whites should have.

If white people are so much better, why are they… like that. (This isn't reverse racism, because that's not a thing.)

The Uluru statement from the heart is a simple and effective piece of literature in which some indigenous people were able to put forth their concerns in as loving a matter of fact as they could have. A diplomatic attitude that they honestly did not owe the settler communities. Yet that statement was met with derision and disrespect bordering on sociopathy from those who are interested in maintaining white supremacy in this country.

[innervoiceartblog]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Uluru Statement (@ulurustatement)

(via To the five and a half million Australians who opened their hearts to walk with us, we say thank you. We see you, we hear you and we read… | Instagram)

[mirrorofliterature]

Uluru Statement from the Heart | Vote Yes for a Voice for First Nations People: Referendum, Australia

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

First Nation • Gadigal Land • Change The Date • Terror Australia • Desert Man, Desert Woman • Wind In My Head (Makarrata Version) • Uluru Statement From The Heart / Come On Down

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[lukiverse]

(Australians please read this) The Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Okay, so the basic idea of the Voice to parliament is adding a section to the Constitution (the laws that can't be changed except with a referendum) so that there is an Indigenous Advisory Board. This is something that First Nations people want and need, and the idea originated in the Uluru Statement From the Heart (https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/ it's less than a page long). 

These sorts of advisory boards aren't weird. Australia has over 110 of them for things like blood borne viruses and STIs, each containing qualified experts. Previously several attempts have been made to start Indigenous Advisory Boards but they've all been disbanded by successive governments. This is why we need to change the constitution. No matter who is in power, there will always be a group of elected Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people to give advice pertaining to their needs. (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-04/how-different-would-the-voice-be-from-other-advisory-bodies/102880116)

One of the no side's main arguments is that there aren't any details about the Voice. This is actually a good thing. The power to decide how it works will be in the hands of the parliament, meaning our democratically elected representatives can vote on how the Voice works. The Voice also will not have veto power, not will it add unnecessary and costly beaurocratic delays to government processes. It will simply give advice and make recommendations pertaining to First Nations issues. 

The Government doesn't even have to listen to the Voice, although public records will be made of who agrees and disagrees with them. The public then has the power to cast scrutiny on whoever they think is in the wrong (which will probably be the politicians). 

Reconciliation Australia's polls have found that 86% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people believe the Voice is important. (https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/support-a-voice-to-parliament/)

Right now Indigenous Australians aren't in a great place. They are the most incarcerated race in the entire world compared to their total population (https://theconversation.com/factcheck-are-first-australians-the-most-imprisoned-people-on-earth-78528). Aboriginal males have a 40% higher suicide rate than non-Aboriginal males. Right now our government is failing to address these concerns, and they've been failing for the past 50 years. A permanent advisory board composed of Indigenous leaders elected by Indigenous Australians can best represent their interest and will ultimately save lives. 

On a final note, this affair has seen a huge amount of misinformation and conspiracy theories, with wild claims that Indigenous Australians want us to pay rent or bypass our democracy. These claims are wildly untrue. (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/12/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-misinformation-fact-checked). Also note that in Australia it's legal to lie in political advertisements and campaigns (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-is-it-legal-to-tell-lies-during-the-voice-referendum-campaign/2wxd2gfec), so take any extremist, fear-mongering claims with a grain of salt. No side campaigners also claim that "if you don't know, vote no". This is absurd. If you truly want to excercise the power of democracy that you (or your parents) are extremely lucky to have, then please do your research and come to an informed conclusion. 

Further reading - 

Every Australian household has received a booklet containing information about the Yes side and the No side. I would recommend reading The Guardian's annotated versions of these, where they elaborate on certain points and call out incorrect or disputed claims. 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2023/jul/20/the-vote-yes-pamphlet-referendum-voice-to-parliament-voting-essay-aec-published-read-in-full-annotated-fact-checked

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2023/jul/20/the-vote-no-pamphlet-referendum-voice-to-parliament-voting-essay-aec-published-read-in-full-annotated-fact-checked

The Guardian and their independent journalism are honestly a tremendous resource, providing free and accurate information about the latest developments and clearly explaining everything for those who haven't kept up. 

I also urge everyone to read the Uluru Statement From the Heart, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to in full. 

Thanks for reading, hopefully I've helped clarify what the referendum is about, and maybe helped you make your decision. 🖤💛❤️