LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Get the facts straight on The Voice Opinion Property/Sports/Opinion - popup ad by News Of The Area - Modern Media - May 19, 2023 DEAR News Of The Area, WAYNE Duesbury makes a number of erroneous claims in his letter last week regarding The Voice. These reflect National Party talking points rather than actual engagement with the issue. The most serious error concerns his assertion that “many years ago we had a successful referendum that removed race from the constitution”. I assume he is referring to the 1967 referendum that saw Aboriginal people counted as citizens for the first time. That referendum did not remove race from the constitution but empowered the Commonwealth to make race based laws that apply to Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people were previously excluded from this section because Aboriginal affairs were seen as a state issue. If Mr Duesbury wishes to look it up it’s section 51(xxvi). The proposal for the Voice is saying that given the Commonwealth already has the constitutional power to make laws specifically targeting Aboriginal people, they would like to be consulted during the development of such laws. It is not unreasonable that this right to consultation also be enshrined in the constitution. So when Mr Duesbury exhorts readers to look at facts rather than listening to “the vibe” I couldn’t agree more. Perhaps he could start by looking into what the proposal for the Voice actually is, rather than what the National Party says it is. Regards, Sean SLAVIN, Bellingen.
You might want to read what was actually changed after that particular referendum, especially your claim of Aboriginal people being counted as citizens for the first time. You might also try listening to the Voice of Aboriginal people. “We, the Aboriginal people from rural and remote Australia do not want it. ‘A bit over two hundred years ago, they rounded Aboriginal people up and locked them on missions. So Aboriginal people were segregated from White society. Then we come forward to now – “The Voice” – and they’re segregating us again. They’re taking us back two hundred years. ‘You’re dividing the country again, it’s back to segregation. And frankly, it’s racist towards our White brothers and sisters that live in this land with us.’ Furthermore, Kerry makes the argument that Aborigines are already over-represented in Parliament, thus nullifying the need for a new body such as the Voice. ‘We have eleven Aboriginal members in Parliament, in the Upper and Lower house.’ Kerry begins. ‘That equates to 4.9 per cent representation, Aboriginal representation in Parliament. For 3.2 per cent of the population. With that, we actually have over-representation in Parliament. So why would we need a Voice? Unless they’re saying that our Parliamentary members are not doing their job.’” https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/12/what-i-learnt-from-an-aboriginal-elder/#:~:text=We%2C%20the%20Aboriginal,doing%20their%20job.%E2%80%99 Reply
