WEARING a ‘Liberals for Yes’ t-shirt in some parts of regional Australia makes me think of the comedy series Little Britain where actor Matt Lucas was the ‘only gay in the village’.

In my case I feel like ‘the only black Liberal in the village’.

Now imagine my feeling at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory, one of the biggest events for Australia’s Indigenous community.

I got more than a few funny looks and there was no question that I stood out.

But the benefit has come from the conversations that flowed.

With a simple t-shirt, I have been able to demonstrate how the upcoming referendum is going to be carried by every part of our community coming together to vote Yes.

Regardless of how you vote at elections, this referendum is about standing together to build a better future for ourselves, for our children, and for the generations to come.

I am proud to be a Wangkumarra/Barkindji man and the co-convenor of the Liberals for Yes campaign.

It has been a long journey from my upbringing in Brewarrina, where I was in foster care on the old mission, to this point – leading a campaign for the centre-right of politics to support this practical change.

I feel strongly that there is a place for liberals and conservatives in supporting the Yes vote because even this week senior Liberals were out advocating for local Voices.

I am calling on all liberal and conservative Liberal members, for all voters to listen openly to the arguments for constitutional recognition through a Voice.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Now is the time for our friends to join Liberals for Yes and advocate in their own circles of influence for the Yes position.

Senior Liberal Shadow Minister Dan Tehan has argued for a legislated Voice.

He suggested that we can close the gap by making sure we’re on the ground listening, especially listening to local communities outside of capital cities.

He’s said that we need to put policies in place to help and support those communities.

This is exactly what voting Yes would do.

Voting Yes would ensure that when the policies Mr Tehan argues for are developed, Indigenous people are at the table having a say.

Mr Tehan acknowledges that governments need to be on the ground listening to local communities, and this is at the heart of what the Voice would do.

Dan Tehan has mistakenly said that the Voice would be “a body which is set up in Canberra”.

This is simply not true.

The Calma/Langton report makes clear that local voices are the focus of the model.

Just as they are in South Australia’s model.

As part of my business and board roles, I travel widely through Australia working with Indigenous communities.
All my life I have been dedicated to empowering Indigenous people to take responsibility, and for governments to loosen their control over our lives.

Empowering people to take responsibility for their own lives is a core liberal value.

It is clear to me that when we work in partnership with Indigenous communities at the local level, to help them help themselves, we get better results than governments deciding what is best.

Surely Mr Tehan must agree with this point.

The Voice will be an advisory committee.

Nothing more.

Members of the Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their local area and serve for a fixed period.

It will not have any veto.

It will be made up of representatives from diverse Indigenous communities.

The Voice is about advice.

When governments listen to people about issues that affect them, they make better decisions, and deliver better value for money.

This is something every MP and voter should support.

We all know the status quo is not working.

The current model of stop-start policy making and ad-hoc consultation in Indigenous Affairs is costly, inefficient and often ineffective, leaving Indigenous people disadvantaged and the broader community disheartened.

A Constitutional guarantee will ensure the Voice has the certainty needed to exist beyond election cycles.

This will avoid this issue becoming a political football at elections – which helps nobody.

The Voice came from Indigenous people.

It was our idea.

It originated from a grassroots consultation process that ended with the Uluru Statement.

In 2007, John Howard committed to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution.

This was a turning point that kicked off a nation-wide consultative process.

In 2017, I was one of over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates who gathered to sign the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart.

It was an invitation to the Australian people to “create a better future” and explicitly calls for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.”

That is what this referendum is about.

It is not about politics.

It is about people.

Indigenous people want and need a better future for our kids.

We want to take responsibility for our communities, but we need a permanent seat at the table so we can have a say.

I am confident the Voice will make a real difference to Indigenous people and create a better future for us all.

I can’t see how better advice to policy makers can be anything but constructive.

And I don’t know what the alternative is.

We are just three percent of the population, and we can’t change the Constitution without the 97 percent of our community – and that’s why your vote is so important.

I will continue to proudly wear my ‘Liberals for Yes’ t-shirt through regional Australia as well as our city streets.

I’m hoping more Liberals join me because voting Yes means a better future for all Australians.

We cannot afford more of the same, and the Voice is our best chance of improving outcomes so we can close the gap.

*Sean Gordon AM is co-convenor of the Liberals for Yes campaign, Chair of Uphold & Recognise, Managing Director of the Gidgee Group, CEO of the Yadha Muru Foundation and serves on many national boards and advisory committees.

By Sean GORDON AM, Liberals for Yes