Future Perfect: Vote YES to the Voice
Later this year, Australians will vote in a referendum around including the ‘Voice’ into the Constitution.
The IEU has consistently supported this campaign, and here are a few reasons why.
It is beyond doubt that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are disproportionately represented in all manner of negative statistics, such as health and educational outcomes, life expectancy, economic opportunities, and incarceration, to name but a few.
A big reason for this has been the historical flow-on from colonisation and dispossession, and, since then, policies which have only worsened the inequality (such as the Stolen Generations).
More broadly, it has been the case that governments have made policy and laws about our First Nations peoples without any input from the people affected. In essence, Australian society has not ever listened to the perspective of our Aboriginal citizens, and the Voice is a way to fix that problem.
The Voice came out of extensive consultation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, culminating in the Uluru Statement of the Heart, and polling suggests it is supported by over 80% of First Nations Australians.
The Voice will not be a ‘third chamber’ of the Australian Parliament, and it will not have any veto power over government decisions. But it will mean that our First Nations people will finally get a voice that should be listened to. After nearly 240 years of failed policies, listening to people seems like a good start towards making things better.
The IEU encourages all members to Vote Yes to The Voice.
Read more Future Perfect (August 2023):