Saying Yes! to The Voice
As a straight white women, I feel ill-equipped to adequately articulate why The Voice to Parliament is essential. It feels a little bit like cultural appropriation for me to advocate for something that won't directly affect me. But it is essential to the Australia I'd like to be part of creating.
I am an immigrant; I came from England to Australia when I was one and a half, so perhaps that doesn't quite count any more. My father was a Hungarian refugee who, at nineteen, walked out of Hungary in 1956. So there's a slither of displacement in my personal history.
The vitriol against refugees, especially those that dared to come by boat, has always seemed like extreme dark humour to me. "Those people will come and take our jobs, refuse to speak our language, buy our homes, impose their religion and basically destroy the way of life we currently enjoy."
Is it just me, or does anyone else read that and think, "Isn't that exactly what the early 'settlers' did to Indigenous Australians?"
Basically, white people came and just assumed it was their god-given right to take whatever the hell they wanted to. That isn't 'settling'. That's invading.
I don't know who said it, but someone gave this explanation of Australia Day (and forgive any paraphrasing or elaborations):
Imagine someone came and stole your house and every year on the anniversary of that day, they held a party to celebrate stealing your house. More than that, they expected you to come and celebrate their 'success' with them.
For most of us, the closest equivalent we might have is a divorce or separation settlement that we feel drastically favours an ex. If you're having trouble empathising with Indigenous Australians, imagine that scenario; are you starting to get an inkling of how living in Australia must feel like for Indigenous Australians? Has felt like for Indigenous Australians since that fateful day when they didn't spear the invaders.
If you're unsure about that period in history, and, let's face it, we have literally white-washed the atrocities, I recommend The Australian Wars, streaming for free on SBS on demand (1).
Right, so we've established white people came and did atrocious things a couple of hundred years ago. Shouldn't we be over that by now? And the 'we' can be replaced with 'Indigenous Australians', obviously. Because clearly they're just not willing to let this go and move on.
Yeah...about that.
Firstly, 'get over it and move on' is a staple for abusers.
Secondly, there is no end-point for Indigenous Australians. This wasn't a one-off event. It isn't in the past. It is right here and now, in every minute of every day.
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Almost half of Aboriginal men and a third of Aboriginal women die before they're 45. 71% die before they're 65 (2).
In 2018-19 financial year, Indigenous Australians earned 60% less than non-indigenous Australians (3).
The white people that came brought not only their diseases and unhealthy habits, they imposed systems that ensured they retained their power. Is it too confronting still, to really examine our society in this way? I am hoping not.
I am hoping that Australians will eschew the inevitable fear mongering from those terrified of losing their privileged positions. Those people aren't your friends...or rather, they're your friends as long as you serve their overriding ambition to maintain a status quo that keeps them comfortable.
I'm hoping that collectively, Australians are smarter than that.
Smart enough to understand that The Voice is about 'Indigenous peoples from around the nation who may make representations to the Executive Government and parliament on matters that affect them....The Voice will focus on matters that affect the heatlh and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples'(4).
Come on Australia!
Let's evolve beyond tired, out-dated rhetoric and fear.
Please.
Vote Yes!
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/the-australian-wars
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1 年This is really enlightening, Mandy. I didn't know about any of this beyond a superficial level. Your thoughtful, compassionate, and self-reflective position here shows how the situation in Australia could be improved, and how it can evolve. We can't rewrite the histories that really happened, but we can add true, previously unheard, stories to existing narratives, which were written by those who benefitted from telling the story their own way, to bring balance, accountability, and perhaps even healing to those histories. Retelling the past changes our perceptions of the present, and opens up new possibilities for the future. It's a Yes from me! ??