#VoiceToParliament #Abstain #TruthTreatyBeforeVoice

"I will not focus on my fears and concerns around what white moderates will do with a yes or what white conservatives will do with a no.

This isn’t about them, it’s about us.

When I think about what mob will do with either outcome I honestly feel much less stress about the long term impacts of either outcome because I believe in Blak power, Blak perseverance, Blak joy, and Blak love. I believe in Indigenous excellence.

As Meriki Onus wrote in her last piece for IndigenousX:

“The knowledge we hold of kinship, country and protocol has existed from the first sunrise, this knowledge of identity and country has been protected and maintained despite the ongoing genocide of our people, and will continue to survive until the last sunset.”

If there is a yes, I will fight for it to build a suitable and sustainable infrastructure to ensure that this body can be a truly representative decision making body. I will fight for it to establish itself in a way where it can have economic independence so even if a future government tries to legislate it into the dust or defund it into irrelevance it can still stand anyway, as a Voice in exile, still agitating and advocating the will of the people.

If there is a no win or if we end up with a Voice that does not adequately represent our interests, then I will fight for activists and advocates to push for greater heights of community building. The disillusionment in the lack of progress following the 1967 referendum spurred on an emerging generation of more radical Aboriginal activists in the 1970s to create the Tent Embassy, Black Theatre, the Aboriginal Medical Service, the Aboriginal Legal Service and many other Aboriginal led actions and initiatives.

So, regardless of the outcome of this referendum, I am on the side of Blakfullas.

I am on the side of anyone who believes in justice over charity, land rights over reconciliation, and Indigenous rights over Closing The Gap they put there in the first place..

Always was, always will be."

- Luke Pearson is a Gamilaroi man living in NSW. He is the founder and CEO of IndigenousX.

https://indigenousx.com.au/voice-debate-that-forgot-indigenous-rights/

#VoiceToParliament #Abstain #TruthTreatyBeforeVoice

“So I ask, what is all of this referendum actually for? Is it to make balanda (non-Indigenous) feel good? Is it to distract us from the prize that many Elders have been fighting for most of our lives, Treaty? Given the result will only reflect what the majority non-Indigenous population of Australia think is right for us, how can it be empowering for us?

You cannot cherry pick who you consult with and then say it is what all Indigenous people wanted. Most people in remote communities have no idea what this “Voice” is about.

Many have forgotten that some of the same Indigenous spokespeople who are leading the pro-Voice movement are the same Indigenous people who pushed for the 2007 NT Intervention laws which destroyed, and continue to impact, the lives of my people for the last 16 years.”

- Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, Senior initiated clan leader of the Yolŋu Nation of North East Arnhem Land.

"Public Statement from Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM on Treaty and the Voice" - https://www.lukungarrafilm.com/dr-gondarra-public-statement

#BoycottTheReferendum #Abstain #VoteInformal #DrawADickOnTheBallot #TruthTreatyBeforeVoice #VoiceToParliament #Yes23

“The fact is that the parliament has the right to decide on the structure of what this Voice is. It’s not upsetting any status quos. In fact, it’s reinforcing them, because it is reinforcing the Constitution as the key founding document of this country.

“To see [Prime Minister] Anthony Albanese reiterate over and over again that there will be no power of veto does say an awful lot about the politics of fear.

“His message has been: ‘Oh, we’re giving them rights, but we’re not giving them any real rights’.”

According to Liddle, all this stems from “Australia’s lack of ability to reconcile with its past and its present”. It also arises from “the ongoing legacy of colonisation and the … very real impacts that they have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”.

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/celeste-liddle-voice-truth-telling-first-important-step

#BoycottTheReferendum #Abstain #VoteInformal #DrawADickOnTheBallot #TruthTreatyBeforeVoice #VoiceToParliament #Yes23

"Albanese has also fed cynicism about the Voice by refusing to act on issues ... such as deaths in custody, child removals, or mining companies destroying Indigenous land.

The corporate branding of the Yes campaign has shown how distant the campaign is from the lives of Indigenous people. The bosses of Wesfarmers and BHP are on the board of the Yes campaign as are Liberal party stalwarts Tony Nutt and Mark Textor.

Albanese even wore a Rio Tinto shirt to a press conference to show his support for the mining companies."

https://solidarity.net.au/mag/current/voice-to-parliament-another-example-of-albaneses-aversion-to-serious-change/