DEAR News Of The Area,

I RESPOND to both Margaret England and Jean-Paul Leunig’s submissions in the 6 January edition with regards to the Aboriginal Voice to Parliament Referendum.

It is terrific that NOTA is enabling discussion on this important issue and your newspaper is to be commended on this action.

However I urge all voters to consider this Referendum based on facts, and not emotions.

If the Referendum is accepted, it will involve a legal and constitutionally enshrined separation of Australians into two racial groupings – the three percent of the population who identify as Indigenous Australians, and the remaining 97 percent of us who are non-Indigenous Australians. I was under the impression that we are all Australians.

We are one mob.

This discussion is especially important as Linda Burney herself is calling upon Australians to support the referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal Voice in our Constitution, a Voice restricted to only those Australians of a recognised Aboriginal race, identity and ancestry.

Given that she has openly declared that Aboriginal people are “special”, she is thus, by definition, stating that the rest of us Australians are therefore “different” and “not special”.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says that this Voice will constitutionally enshrine the idea that Aboriginal people are perpetual victims forever in need of “special” measures.

Jacinta Price has previously been an in-principle supporter of the Voice but has expressed deep scepticism about this proposal with so much detail so far omitted.

We should take note of her scepticism.

Warren Mundine has warned about the wording of the referendum proposal.

He wonders what exactly does “Voice” (in Clause 1 of the Referendum), mean under Constitutional Law?

This has not been explained.

He also questions which meaning of the word “matters” (in Clause 2 of the Referendum) will be used.

Matters means “everything”.

This has also not been explained.

We need to look at this referendum objectively or it has the potential to become a Judicial and Constitutional nightmare.

There is no room for subjectivity or thoughts of “kindness” or “good manners” in making this decision.

In any event, the Australian Constitution at Section 51(xxvi), commonly called “the race power”, already grants the Australian Commonwealth the power to make special laws for people of any race.

Let our elected Parliamentary Representatives (Indigenous and other) make the required arguments for such Laws.

That is what they are there to do.

Be careful what you wish for.

Regards,
Peter WEYLING,
Corindi Beach.