Would you consider a Soft Yes instead? "Why not?"

Are you a potential “Soft No” voter? You’ve got the power in this referendum to change the whole outcome!

I’ll be voting Yes, but I want to have a conversation. I’m curious and refuse to judge. I don’t love the slogan in the Yes campaign “Because it’s the right thing to do.” It’s got a tinge of self-righteousness to it. We all think we’re doing the right thing!

But I’m curious about why you are thinking about maybe Voting No. Maybe you’re not thinking about it at all - which is fair enough. There’s a fair bit going on to distract us all…

Congrats to the Magpies! As a proud Lions supporter, we were just one kick away from a premiership – what an achievement! But you can’t help love the way this Collingwood side under Fly McRae and Darcy Moore go about it. A fitting end to the AFL season.

But if you are thinking about the referendum, I wonder what’s tipping you towards a No. Maybe you don’t know any Indigenous Australians (at only 4% of the population, most of us don’t), so you feel it’s just not relevant to you.

Maybe you don’t feel you know enough about it, so it feels safer to just vote No to keep the status quo. Or maybe you’re worried the Voice will give one minority group special privileges. If we want to treat everyone equally, why not give all minorities a voice?

If any of these reasons apply to you, would you be open to another view?

Here’s mine.

My Dad died 7 years ago, aged 89. A long and lucky life, motivated by service. He voted Liberal in every election. Economically conservative but socially progressive. One of Dad’s favourite questions, when presented with a proposal was, “Why not?” In other words, what are the downsides?

So, let’s say the Yes vote gets up and we do get a Voice in the Constitution. What are the possible downsides?

We’d be giving Indigenous Aussies the chance to advise Parliament on issues that only relate to themselves. Advice only. Zero power to make laws. Could that ever be a bad thing? If Parliament doesn’t agree with the advice, nothing happens. Democracy carries on, BAU. Plenty of people think the Voice is too weak, that it should have more clout. So what is actually proposed is pretty tame.

It’s also pretty generous, given European settlement’s short history in this land - just 250 years, versus a mind-boggling 60,000+ years of Indigenous life here - the longest continuous culture of any land on the planet. That’s something to celebrate!

Plus, the ancestors of today’s Indigenous Australians never gave up ownership to the British government. So there was an unlawful dispossession that’s never been righted. Which is why this minority group is so different to any others. I can’t see a downside here myself. But, what do you think?

Some people say the Voice won’t change anything, so why bother? But there’s still a terrible gap in living standards. So why not give it a go? Again, where’s the downside?

Anyway, I hope this might help you ponder falling on the side of Yes by asking yourself, "Why Not?" And it wouldn’t be soft, by the way. It could be the most powerful thing you can do for all the people of this country.

Go Lions in 2024!

Yes23 #yes23 #voice23 #referendum23 Collingwood Football Club Brisbane Lions AFL - Australian Football League Darcy Moore Craig McRae