Voice to parliament referendum fails in defeat that Indigenous advocates will see as a blow to progress towards reconciliation

Australians have resoundingly rejected a proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in its constitution and establish a body to advise parliament on Indigenous issues.

Saturday’s voice to parliament referendum failed, with the defeat clear shortly after polls closed.

  • Seudo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    815·
    1 year ago

    Wot? Absolutely nothing stoping parliament from listening to the numerous recommendations that would improve the standard of living or life expectancy of indigenous people. Why would you think a few token lines in the constitution will change that?

    • WaxedWookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
      13·
      1 year ago

      Because they’ll have an official body they’ll be dismissing rather than one of many groups, which aren’t always unified - it forces nothing, but does give a go-to body that the government will need to take an optical hit to ignore.

      The constitutional amendment helps because the deserve recognition, and because it stops the next government disbanding the body.

      • Seudo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        1 year ago

        So there will be just as many people saying the voice doesn’t represent them or their country but white folks can feel like everything is fine and dandy. Swell

        • WaxedWookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Would you mind clarifying what you mean? There’s a few ways to interpret this.

          If you mean that it’s not a perfect representation of the views of the indigenous community, that’s obviously true, but unavoidable in any representative body. What it does is solicit feedback from the community and effectively pushes that forward as a single, strong voice. This works in the same way that a union brings together workers that are powerless as individuals and small groups, into a single, far more powerful, though not perfectly representative body that’s able to campaign for meaningful positive change for all members.

          Sounds swell to me.

        • WaxedWookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          What’s token about forcing the government of the day to take the optical damage from publicly dismissing the guidance of the official body representing indigenous community? Seems it would give them reason to reconsider as well as a great body to consult on how to best prioritise and address the issues facing the community.

          • Seudo@lemmy.worldEnglish
            12·
            1 year ago

            Entirely depends on how it’s to be structured. Which the public didn’t vote on. Done correctly I do agree on the optics of an official body though.

              • Seudo@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                1 year ago

                Either way, some of us whities just don’t feel comfortable determining the future of indigenous people.

                • WaxedWookie@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  That’s the point of the Voice though, isn’t it - to give a body representing indigenous Australians a say in decisions relating to them.

                  That’s contrasted with the current situation, where the government selects an indigenous affairs minister, then optionally cherrypicks the indigenous representative bodies that support their agenda.