We spoke to men and women, young people and elders, people who are politically engaged, and people who say the only “Voice” they know of is the singing competition on television. Among those interviewed, more than half said they would vote yes, a third were unsure, and a handful were firmly in the no camp. Our small but diverse sample suggests support is similarly high. But non-Indigenous voters should hear Indigenous voices to understand what a Voice to Parliament means to First Nations people.Įquivalent polling of Indigenous Australians is difficult to come by. Electoral mathematics mean the outcome will not be determined by the 3.4 per cent of the population who identify as Indigenous. The proposed referendum is a national vote that will most significantly affect First Nations people. “We know it’s not going to have any power, we know it’s not going to have any say over funding or anything like that, so one has to wonder what’s the purpose of it?” Gibbins says. Rodney Gibbins, a palawa man from Hobart, was also in the undecided camp, saying he didn’t understand the proposal. Ros Sailor, a Kuku Yalanji and Waanyi woman from Townsville, said she was presently “sitting on the fence” because she did not know enough about the planned Voice to make an informed decision. In conceding to the Voice, in some ways, what we give away is not fair on our future generations who may hate us for that.” “We own this country and it was taken, so I don’t like to compromise. “I would absolutely vote no, and I think we are about 10 years away from being mature enough in our cultural journey to even have this dialogue,” Bramble says. ‘We own this country, and it was taken, so I don’t like to compromise.’ Biripi woman Kim Bramble Only a few people were in the definite no camp, but Kim Bramble, 52, a Biripi woman in Wauchope in NSW, was typical in saying the proposed Voice did not go far enough. I think it’s important for us to have a voice there, so I would say to all our mob to vote.” “My concern is about my children and their future. I would really like to have someone who is representing us.”įor Ashley Dalton, a 30-year-old Gunaikurnai woman from Morwell in Victoria, it’s all about giving a voice to the next generation. “It is about time that we had a voice, so it is a definite yes from me, that’s for sure,” he says.īarry Smith, 51, a Noongar-Ballardong man from Midland, Western Australia, said: “I come from a country town where we don’t really have a say in much. And nearly everyone had questions.Īnthony Hume, 42, a Yorta Yorta man from Torquay in Victoria, was typical of the Voice supporters. Some said no, citing suspicion, or doubts about how constitutional change would affect Aboriginal sovereignty. The elder welcomed our reporter and photographer to Thunggutti Country, which extends west towards Armidale and east down to the coast.Īmong the ordinary Indigenous people who shared their views with us, most said they would vote yes, some with enthusiasm and others with more cautious optimism. We don’t want to be the last any more we want to be equal to all the other cultures in the world and even to white Australians.”Īt 67, Dunn still lives in the same community near Bellbrook, in the mountains above Kempsey on the NSW Mid North Coast. Being First Nations people, we’re the last to be heard, the last to be counted. “We need a Voice to represent our people and our culture and our nation. We don’t want to be the last any more we want to be equal.’ Aunty Ruth Dunn ‘We’re the last to be heard, the last to be counted. “We are the voice of our elders who have passed on and didn’t have a voice at the time,” Dunn says. The days of the mission manager are long gone, it has been 15 years since the Rudd government apologised for the stolen generations, and Dunn’s people now have control over some of their ancestral lands.īut Dunn says her people are still not heard in Australia’s corridors of power – and she hopes a First Nations Voice to parliament can change that. When Aunty Ruth Dunn was a child, she lived under the rule of an Aboriginal mission manager who controlled most aspects of everyday life.
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