#aboriginal and torres strait islander voice

[luthienebonyx]

I've seen some misinformation spreading around tumblr about the Australian Voice referendum to be held this Saturday, 14 October 2023, so here are some actual facts about what it is and why Australians should PLEASE vote YES.

So, what is the referendum question?

The referendum question is about recognising Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, and setting up a body to be known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, so that Indigenous representatives have the right to provide advice to government about decisions that affect Indigenous people.

Here’s the actual referendum question:

A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?

The new chapter and section to be added to the constitution are:

Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

S 129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;

3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

Source and more info

That’s it. That’s all it is.

The No campaign is spreading lies about the Voice, suggesting that it will somehow take rights or property away from non-Indigenous Australians. They’ve also been using social media - and some elements of mainstream media - to stir up fear and racism, using tactics with a vibe that will be all too familiar to our American friends who have lived through Trump, or our British friends who have been through Brexit.

Here are a few simple facts to counter some of the misinformation that's out there.

Why do we need a body like the Voice?

Indigenous people experience a level of disadvantage that applies to no other group of Australians. As the Prime Minister has said on numerous occasions, a young Indigenous man in this country today is more likely to go to jail than to go to university. Meanwhile, the periodic closing the gap reports show that Australian governments continue to fail in their aim for Indigenous Australians’ health and life expectancy to be equal to that of other Australians.

These sorts of outcomes are typical of a system that has always been about doing things to Indigenous people, rather than with them. Indigenous people need to be in the room when decisions are made about matters that affect them.

So yeah, we need an advisory body that has the ear of politicians. Seems simple enough, so why not just legislate it?

That’s the thing: we’ve already tried that.

We need an advisory body like the Voice to be enshrined in the Constitution because we’ve HAD advisory bodies before – bodies like the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC). ATSIC was abolished in 2005 by a government that was hostile to ATSIC’s aims – something that government could easily do since there was no obligation for a body like that to exist. Other similar bodies have gone the same way. 

Putting the Voice in the constitution means that it will always exist. The actual decision-making power continues to reside with our elected politicians, but having the Voice means that they will be obligated to listen to the perspective and suggestions of Indigenous representatives before they (the politicians) make decisions affecting Indigenous people.

The politicians will still have the power to legislate the details of how the Voice works, just like any other body set up under legislation - but once it's in the constitution, they don't get to decide whether it exists or not.

Where did the idea for the Voice come from?

Indigenous people have been calling for something like the Voice since the 1920s, but the current proposition originated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This is a petition created by Indigenous delegates to the First Nations National Constitutional Convention held at Uluru in 2017. The Uluru statement from the heart is only 439 words, but they’re very powerful words. Read it here

So if you hear the No campaign trying to say that the idea for the Voice comes from Canberra or from politicians: no, it doesn’t. It comes from Uluru, in central Australia, and it comes from a request by representatives of a large number of Indigenous people. The government is responding to that request by holding this referendum.

Do all Indigenous Australians support the Voice?

Have you ever known any group of people that share 100% support for anything? Of course there isn’t agreement by every single Indigenous person that this is the right way to proceed. HOWEVER, that said, polling shows that around 80% of Indigenous Australians  support the Voice, and of the remaining approximately 20%, many don’t support the Voice because they believe it doesn’t go far enough. Some want a treaty before anything else.

But you wouldn’t know that by the way the Australian media has reported the campaign.

I’m not going to repeat that No campaign slogan. If you’ve watched or read any reporting about this issue, you know the one I mean. The one that panders to ignorance and fear.

Instead, I’m just going to say: if you don’t know, FIND OUT. And then VOTE YES.

[wodenscild]

Wtaf??? How did the No campaign go so strong??? I genuinely thought the No people were just a vocal minority? But no apparently so many people are against it??? Australia is both a racist and stupid stupid STUPID country. I can't believe it- tho I don't think I should be surprised. I hope we will get another vote on this matter in the future. But something tells me this won't happen

[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! 🖤💛❤️

[bettygemma]

"Regardless of the date Australia Day is held, Australia in its current existence continues to perpetuate systems structurally designed to oppress. When our highest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rates aren’t in suicide, prisons and deaths in custody—then we may be a country worth celebrating. But until then, every day in this country is a day of survival. "

'8 things you need to know about Jan 26', Clothing the Gaps.

[totallyseiso]

Got a booklet in the mail that's all about the upcoming referendum, and one of the points for voting no is that voting yes could lead to a "dysfunctional government"

Bitch, this is Australia. We don't even have a functional government to begin with. The batshit-auspoll blog pretty much proves that

[ehlnofay]

fuck it I'm reblogging everything about the referendum here bc I barely do shit on my main blog and I'm Upset

[chaos-but-im-tired]

This isn’t fair, Australia. We have failed to stand up for our people. We have listened to the views of people who campaigned for your ignorance and, in turn, your silence. Because that’s all that was. I hope you realise that one day.

‘If you don’t know, vote no’ is so wrong in a very particular way. If you don’t know, you fucking find out for yourself. You do not support people arguing for your ignorance.

To all of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this isn’t fair. You need to be listened to, not just heard. You weren’t given that. I won’t bother apologising. The Uluṟu Statement and it’s use in the past months seemed to show a clear message: ‘Sorry is not enough’ and I agree.

To every Australian, I hope you now know what people have been trying you tell you for years now. Australia, no matter how diverse, does not accept that diversity. We are an inherently racist country and the terrible outcome of the Voice has just proven that. I wish I could say otherwise, I really do. I want to be optimistic. I want to say that I am a proud Australian, but I can’t. I can’t truly believe that.

To anyone reading, Australian or not, take this as a very real example of why you check your sources. Why you don’t believe everything you hear. Why you don’t automatically trust people - no matter how high their rank is.

For anyone wanting to move ahead with this and show your support, here are a couple of things you can do:

Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait businesses

Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait artists

Read through the Uluṟu Statement of the Heart website and use the resources found in their Take Action section found here: https://ulurustatement.org/

Read through the NAIDOC Week website and use the support toolkit found in their resources section found here: https://www.naidoc.org.au/

Donate to charities like World Vision to support the campaigns they have surrounding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples

Talk to your federal electorate member. Write letters. Email. Call if they have that option available. Do whatever you can to make your voice heard. Make sure that they know your anger and your pain.

Most importantly…

Make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait voices are heard.

This election was not about anyone or anything other than making sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are heard in parliament and that their opinion and Voice is heard above the crowd.

Now more than ever, we must make sure that they are heard. Prove your support for their voice. Prove you want to hear them. That the voice would have been important. That they deserve a say. Do not drown them out. Make sure their voices are heard.

If you have any other ideas for what else I should put here, please don’t hesitate to share. I’m a white enby - I don’t know everything and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples need as much support as they can get right now.

[mouth-almighty]

So the date has officially been confirmed for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

I'm sure that, just like the marriage equality plebiscite in 2017, the conservative side of the debate will be respectful and reasoned with no fear mongering, misinformation, or disinformation.

[t-jfh]

For some in Indigenous Australia, reconciliation can never be revived.

(ABC News: Emma Machan)

Is reconciliation really dead after the Voice to Parliament was voted down?

By Indigenous Affairs Editor, Bridget Brennan

ABC News Australia - 22 October 2023

•

•

Indigenous leaders who campaigned for Yes have released a statement pledging to fight for justice.

(Supplied)

‘Shameful victory’: Indigenous leaders’ bitter lesson from Voice campaign.

By Mike Foley

The Age - October 22, 2023

•

•

Indigenous leaders have written an open letter to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Voice referendum was defeated.

(ABC News: Michael Franchi)

Indigenous leaders break their silence, call referendum defeat 'appalling and mean-spirited'.

By Indigenous Affairs Editor, Bridget Brennan

ABC News Australia - 22 October 2023

•

[industrybuzz]

The Voice, The Vote

The Voice Referendum in Australia will come to a vote on October, creating an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Approximately 3.8% of Australians today are indigenous, a group which lumps together both the native Aboriginal people of the mainland, and the Torres Strait Islanders, who come from islands off the northeast coast. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, their numbers are…

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Aussie Update

Hello dear friends,

For those of you who don't know, Australia had a historic referendum today for "The Voice to Parliament." This referendum was needed to change the Australian constitution so that an advisory body could give the federal government their opinion on matters affecting Indigenous Australians.

For the voice to pass, we need 51% of the country and 4 out of six states, and it's important to know that most referendums fail. The counting started at 6:00PM in every state, with one to go due to daylight savings. However, it has already failed.

This is not the outcome I wanted, but it is the outcome I expected. This referendum failure points to what POC have always known, we have a problem with racism in this country. We also have a huge problem with apathy and ignorance, the main slogan of the no side was "If you don't know, vote no," and people didn't take the time to educate themselves. I had many conversations with people who had no idea about The Voice or what it meant and all their fears were unfounded because of the missinfo campaign.

This didn't happen in a vacuum, the cost of living is insane, rent is unaffordable, and investors are buying up all our houses. This horrible outcome is just another log in a pile that disproportionately affects Indigenous Australians.

All we can do now is acknowledge the hard work and efforts of the Yes campaigners and thank them for what they did for the country. Hug your friends, give some a call if you think they're having a hard time.

13yarn 13 92 76 the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line.

13 11 14 lifeline.

These services may be very busy right now but there are people who are there for you. If someone is at immediate risk, please call 000.

[wodenscild]

Aaaaaaa things are getting wild here. For those who dont know next month we are having a referendum in enshrining an Indigenous Voice into the constitution. What this would mean is that there would be required Indigenous Representation in the Australian Parliament, which is MASSIVE! & honestly a real good step towards Reconciliation. I mean, given Aussie Invasion history, how horrid non-Indigenous consulted policies have been (cough cough the Intervention & the Stolen Generations to name a few), & the significance of acknowledging Country & the Elders- i wouldve assumed that were wouldve been no crazy backlash to this at all!

But nope- i was wrong =_= i’ll be honest i havent seen any backcry against the referendum until these past few weeks, except when the entire thing was even announced. Back then the main talking point for voting no was because it would give unequal racially biased representation… which is… straight up stupid? Firstly, the Voice would not be able to make & vote on laws, but rather only be able to suggest them. Saying it is racially biased is also just- stupid? Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders currently have nigh on none government representation. This is mainly due to the facts of non-Indigenous Australians vastly outnumbering Indigenous Australians & so their voices are heard above Indigenous ones, racism & social factors that generally stop Indigenous people from running in larger areas like along urban East Coast, & also a matter of culture & Reconciliation? Which is like- IMPORTANT!! Indigenous cultures all around the country, from Noongar Boodjar to Badu & Moa Islands, see the importance of having their Voices heard in the management of their Country, & those who live on it. Just as it was before Invasion.

Over the past few weeks things have just gotten mad tho. It started off with seeing a spray painted “Vote No” on a chair at a bus stop, which is… why? Why would you do that? It was weird. What really opened my eyes but to how fervently against this change people were was a demonstration i walked passed the other day while in the city. There were Eureka Stockade flags (which is the closest thing we sorta have to a Confederate flag), & upside down Red Australian flags being flown at each corner of the square of the plaza. It wss PACKED with people holding signs saying vote no. & the speaker- a European Australian who was yelling about how we shouldnt make this change & how itll divide the nation & how if we dont understand it that we gotta vote no- & the way she was speaking was like as tho she was an Elder telling histories of colonialism at an Invasion Day rally. The power & almost fear in her voice- & the amount of people there & cheering her on, it was honestly horrifying. Flying those flags, using ignorance to justify voting no as one would assume an excuse that wouldnt label them as racists, & all with such a passion i have only seen within protests & demonstrations IN FAVOUR of Indigenous rights. It was just- BOGGLING

Idk man its baffling. Any Aussies reading this, i know we are all required to vote & all, but when we get down to the polls, Vote Yes. & Vote with in mind yhe hope of further Reconciliation & with the hope that people like the ones at that protest will not win & will not keep a Voice away from those who not only need it, but deserve it.

[post-futurism]

Australia NEEDS to be paying attention to this. In essence the Liberal party is going to use the tears of a massive gold mining company not being able to get their way with destroying a significant Aboriginal area to stir up racist and classist aligned votes under a new Liberal Party banner somehow claiming that the party is speaking for the working class.

ICYMI McPhillamy's Gold Mine has gone through the planning process and received development approval for their site near Blayney, NSW, on Wiradjuri land. The mine would be facilitated by the construction of a tailings dam on the Belubula River around which are identified Aboriginal archaeology. Because the dam would have required the destruction of these objects, the planning process included consultation with Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs), including the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council (Orange LALC), and Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation (WTOCWAC).

Despite having planning approval, Tanya Plibersek, Labor's Environmental Minister, made a rare approval of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protection Act Section 10 application which enables the protection of an area provided that the minister can be satisfied that the land is a significant Aboriginal area and is under threat of injury or desecration. This Act is separate to the planning process and is available to Aboriginal people to use where they consider that the planning system has failed to protect cultural sites.

This is exactly what the WTOCWAC did. During the assessment process, the WTOCWAC gave advice to the Orange LALC who were the identified Aboriginal persons to comment on the project in Blayney (because Blayney does not have a LALC). It originally did not support the proposal, the same as the WTOCWAC, however, the Orange LALC changed its final position to neutral. Despite the WTOCWAC being a registered RAP that had written it did not support the proposal, the planning system favours LALCs over traditional custodians who are not part of LALCs and therefore the state government was able to ignore the WTOCWAC's opposition and approve the development anyway.

The area where the tailings dam would be constructed is part of a significant Wiradyuri cultural story that is, at this time, only known to cultural knowledge holders, the Orange LALC and Tanya Plibersek. The cultural significance was clearly enough to 'satisfy' Plibersek that the identified area should be protected under Section 10.

The day that the section 10 application approval was announced was just two days after the 200th anniversary of the Bathurst Wars on August 14 1824, the day on which Governor Brisbane issued a proclamation of martial law which gave rise to a war against Wiradjuri people and colonisers. The war was indiscriminately a war of extermination, with Wiradjuri people fighting back but ultimately forcing to surrender after their population was significantly annihilated and the survivors having dispersed. 200 years later, the elders in the WTOCWAC are some of the many Wiradyuri survivors of the Bathurst Wars. It was during a week long of commemorating and conserving culture that the immensely great news of the Section 10 approval came through.

However, since the announcement, the WTOCWAC group have faced significant backlash from the mining sector and communities at large. In addition, the media has focused on the tears of the McPhillamy gold mine company not being able to get it exactly their way even though their shares have increased by about 16%.

Here are multiple articles weighted toward the mining sector's tears.

I have only seen one (1) mainstream article that actually gives an indigenous voice to the backlash they've been getting for daring to use the coloniser's laws to protect their cultural heritage.

Make a donation to the WTOWAC here. (They are a registered charity and your donation is tax deductible)

Wait, wasn't this post meant to be about the Liberal Party?

Yeah, so remember when The Voice referendum was going up and Peter Dutton said that he would give The Voice another go if it failed, and then when it DID fail, he said he would never give it a shot again? Did you also read the first linked article and read this horrific quote:

“This is not the Australian Labor party of the worker,” Dutton told the Minerals Council’s annual conference this week. “Its members are committed to waging environmental and social crusades, especially against certain industries.” .... The Coalition has carefully analysed the different reasons people had for voting no in last year’s defeated referendum on enshrining an Indigenous voice to parliament in the constitution, and especially those self-identified Labor voters who call themselves working people. Dutton wants to turn that opposition to the voice into disillusionment with the government, and ultimately, votes for the Coalition at the federal election. He reckons the McPhillamys decision helps him do it.

The interests of the mining sector, racism and anti-aboriginal rhetoric goes hand in hand with Peter Dutton's platform. Not only will we never see another attempt at The Voice under a federal Liberal Party, we COULD see an abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protection Act, the mechanism that has protected the waters of the Belubula River from being destroyed by the McPhillamy gold mine. The mining sector has been so shaken up by this 'sudden' and 'unprecedented' decision, and with them lining Dutton's pockets it's not unreasonable to predict that abolishing the act could be one of the first things Dutton does if elected.

This would be absolutely devastating for current and any future Aboriginal sites that need to be protected where the planning system has failed to protect them. And this is going to continue to be the case until the planning system can better identify and protect intangible cultural heritage.

We need to stand up for Aboriginal rights, we need to stand up for the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage, we need to ensure there are pathways for the protection of culture and we need to believe traditional custodians when they walk their truth.

[mapsontheweb]

Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum, 2023.

On 14 October 2023, a referendum was held to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, also referred to as the First Nations Voice, the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, or just the Voice. 

The Voice, a proposed amendment to the Australian Constitution, would establish a federal advisory body to represent the views of Australia’s Indigenous communities and would be a way to address the disadvantages faced by these communities. However, the Voice proposal failed to receive the double majority required by the Australian Constitution because it was rejected both nationally and by the majority in each state. The only state or territory with a majority of “yes” votes was the Australian Capital Territory. Areas with a significant Indigenous Australian population also overwhelmingly voted in favour. 

Sources: 

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.” National Indigenous Australians Agency. 2023. 

Advisory Report on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice). May 2023. 

Australian Electoral Commission. 31 October 2023.

by anthro.atlas

[hrtvampires]

If anyone is curious about what is happening in Australia at the moment, today Australian citizens voted on whether or not there should be added to the constitution the need for the government to set up an advisory board made up of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders (Australia's indigenous people) so that they can bring forward issues affecting their communities as well as provide feedback on how new laws might affect the. The results of the vote was announced a few hours ago and it was a No, with over half the population deciding not to include this in the constitution.

The reason this inclusion in the constitution was so important is because of one simple fact: Australia is a very racist country. It pretends not to be, pushing a narrative of assimilation (for example, I remember ads about how we're "one country, one people" playing on tv when I was a kid, and many of the ads against voting yes focused on how "this voice would divide us").

The Stolen Generation only ended in 1969. If you don't know what this is, The Stolen Generation refers to a period in which the government forcibly took Indigenous children from their communities, families and cultures. These children were then taken to institutions, or adopted - being punished for speaking their own languages, and often being subject to abuse and neglect. Most of these children never saw their families again. Many indigenous traditions and cultural practices are passed down from generation to generation orally, meaning that The Stolen Generation led to a lot of traditions being lost.

The reason i'm explaining what The Stolen Generation is, is that it still massively affects indigenous people today. The Stolen Generation only ended 54 years ago, meaning that the CHILDREN taken from their families are still very much alive today, and the trauma they experienced still affects their communities. There's a massive gap in education, employment, etc between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

The Stolen Generation isn't the only contributor to Australia's culture of racism, or the systematic racism here; but I wanted to inform people about it because it makes a point and spreads awareness about Australia's history.

This no result is a sobering reality check. The advisory committee would have meant issues such as Black deaths in custody, and the gap could have been prioritized by the government.

Australia is still very much racist. People are still uneducated on the difference between equality and equity. People don't want to put in the work to make the world better and decolonize their minds. The government still doesn't give a shit about it's people. Misinformation is rampant. Fearmongering is rampant.

[shallowspocketdimension]

FYI just want people to know that the abbreviation of Omegaverse with and without the slashes is a very real world derogatory slur that has been hurled towards Indigenous Aboriginal Australians for centuries. I obviously understand not everyone is fully aware of Australia's history of institutionalized racism, genocide of traditional land owners and the stolen generation etc., but seeing the Omegaverse abbreviation everywhere is genuinely frustrating especially when people are ignorant to the actual serious implications of the word when put into a different cultural context.

EDIT: it should be noted that is also frustrating that people outside of Australia don't really know much about it's racist history (which is no fault of their own, hell even my education on Australian history back in primary school was abysmal and never mentioned the countless genocides the English settlers caused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people during colonization), but that's a whole other wider conversation - and even then you should be looking for Indigenous Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander Voices if you want learn about Australia's history.