The Voice deserves to be heard by us all

If spoken clearly, the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will not be silenced

Significant possibilities at Garma Festival (Source:AAPIMAGE)

The Albanese Government made no secret of its desire to work through an Indigenous voice to parliament as a priority during its election campaign. Albanese’s speech at Garma Festival signified a meaningful and encouraging show of solidarity from this new government. Symbolic words were spoken, but now with the line drawn and the task in motion, the challenge lies ahead to ensure the pathway to the voice is accompanied by the actions necessary to deliver it to the people. A voice spoken in the right way will temper it against the tides of opposition that are developing and protect against the politicisation that opportunists see in causing division on the subject. 

With a change in political parties comes with it a real chance to put it to the people, with whom it truly belongs. Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has unequivocally stated "There will be a process, we will not be rushed". Such a cautious approach to build widespread consensus will certainly be required. The voice will have to be negotiated with patience and openness; its details must be clearly communicated by a government prepared to go on a journey with the people of Australia to bring them to a referendum with a clear understanding of what is before them. All the detail will be subjected the scrutiny of an uneasy Coalition before they approve it, and either way it may not ultimately matter, but some within the ranks already seek to exploit it for any potential divisiveness. Although clarity is crucial, the structure of the voice must be carefully explained to Australians, perhaps more importantly too, the ability to convey the dream and the possibilities that it can help realise.

Within the collapsing neutron star that we know of the Coalition today, ebbs an unsteady energy that is pulsating through the projections of its new leadership core. Under the previous Coalition government, the Uluru Statement became a standard victim of its trademark repealing and regression, falling to its war on progressivism that lasted for a decade. Now, as a historically lean opposition, with an unpopular leader, the party led by the man who walked out during the Rudd apology in 2008, now tentatively supports the voice with “an open mind”.

This opportunity for cohesion comes with an undercurrent of tension that builds in the political encampments of the hard right. The LNP experiment continues to lose sight of the pulse of the nation in the wake of their ideological crisis following an historic election loss, but it won’t stop some from trying to hammer a wedge on this issue, and they will find no lack of support in the media. While an Aboriginal Senator collects headlines for not acknowledging the Queen, Pauline Hanson is doing another version of the pantomime, storming out during the opening acknowledgement of country in the Senate. Coalition MPs Tony Pasin, Phillip Thompson and Claire Chandler have joined her in drawing the line in the sand, yet it seems distant from the significance of Garma Festival, and eons away from public interest of our population.

Adding its usual turbine-like decibels, we can now hear the oily splutter of the corporate press engine kicking into gear after an election coverage that was hard on its treads. Will they have the appetite to oppose this historically important necessity? Can they allow the nation to have this conversation and resist tarnishing it with the same disingenuous spin they apply to everything? Do they have the political capital do so? If the voice is delivered on solid foundations, the detractors may find that there are not many options, and those that wish to oppose it risk the same judgement as people that take a baseless and unworthy position against it.

The grievance must be found first. It might be hard for some. What is on the table here is so important to so many people, and so completely removed from anyone that may take issue with it. It doesn’t impact white Australia, it has no bearing on the newer post-war migrant population, it should matter to most in the urban and rural communities who have seen the failures of bipartisan governments to address the compounding issues affecting First Nations people. This is about ensuring Aboriginal people constitutional recognition as Australia’s first peoples, to have the ability to evaluate legislation, and ultimately contribute to decision making that will define Australia’s future. Who can get in the way of that?

There are differing views on the voice among indigenous communities, but building the foundation of the voice with the people that need to define it, and listening in consultation with the people that should be heard, consensus can be built to allow the robust discussions required to achieve the best outcome that includes the most voices, and the opponents of this fundamentally powerful act will not have a chance to block its passage. Australians’ suspicions are easily aroused, resistance to change is baked into our uninspiring modern history and exemplified by our ‘tall poppy syndrome’, and our insecurity is played on by the petty backwater political class by uninspiring elites and the vapid pundits of the press, details will matter. The voice can change the way we embrace who we are, and allow the nation to start feeling the comfort of something inexplicably bigger.

The voice has the power to redefine national identity (Source:ABC)

The voice has all the elements of something beautiful and could mark a significant change to the way we perceive ourselves.  We have struggled to find our identity in the remnants of a White Australia Policy, and we have been unable to completely grasp our Asian geographical reality as a result. Within our important multicultural story, we have found some solace, but it has felt shallow when removed from the tens-of-thousands of years of deep human continuity that could help to define our nationhood in ways that we may not yet understand.

Australians have not been able to reconcile with fellow Australians, the traditional owners of this land, who were dispossessed and subjugated under slavery, murder and institutionalism, and as a consequence of being silenced have missed so many opportunities in this country -- the rest of us have also missed out on the opportunity to join them and learn in the sanctuary and meaningful depth of their rich culture. Aboriginal people have been denied avenues to contribute to the future of Australia, and now they invite us to help us change that. It will be the part of every Australian that gets to see this done, because it matters to all of us.  

It is not yet clear what the Voice will sound like. Worthy challenges lie ahead for the Albanese government to ensure it is delivered with the care it deserves, with the patience to understand and the ears to listen. In the meantime, there are plenty of folk that are willing to turn this into a shitstorm and are quite clear on how they are going to make it happen, but for every one of them, there could be many more who do not.

Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders around the country have struggled under the weight of oppression across generations and centuries. Australians now have the opportunity to walk along proudly with Indigenous Australians towards something better, and we must not squander the chance. The Indigenous voice to parliament is a chance to inject something significant into this country, a platform for good that is long overdue in this country. If the government is willing not to rush as it says, if it takes the time to deliver this gift with Australian First Nations people to the entire country, we can begin to embrace an identity that recognises the importance of the power of thousands of generations of continuous humanity on this incredible island continent. What that could possibly mean for our future!