Australia has decided on a date for its first referendum in 24 years. Recent polls indicate that the government is likely to fail if it cannot regain its dwindling support.
On October 14, over 17 million people who are allowed to vote will decide if they want to change the rules of the country’s constitution. This change would mean that the government would acknowledge and give importance to the people who were the first to live in this land by creating a special group that would give advice to the government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that every Australian will have a rare opportunity to unite our country and make it better.
As soon as the date was announced, the no campaign sent a text message asking for donations that can be deducted from taxes. The message said: “It’s happening. Albo has declared it, and we have until October 14th to defeat the Voice. ”
Only one question will be asked, and you can only answer with “yes” or “no”. The question is about changing the Constitution to acknowledge the First Peoples of Australia by creating a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Do you agree with this suggested change.
This question has led to many discussions and debates both online and on television. Both sides are trying very hard to convince most people in all states and territories to support their viewpoint.
To pass the vote, it requires two conditions to be met. Firstly, more than 50% of all voters in the country must vote in favor. Secondly, at least 50% of the states, which is four out of six, must also vote in favor. Votes in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory will only count towards the overall number of votes in the country.
People see the vote as an important moment because it doesn’t happen often and can’t be undone. It has also brought attention to long-standing problems that have been around for hundreds of years.
The Voice, if agreed upon, would include a group of Indigenous people in the constitution. They will provide guidance to the government regarding laws that affect them.
Advocates claim that the vote is a chance to address the deep pain caused by unfair treatment, and to finally give attention to the concerns of First Nations people after enduring many years of mistreatment, prejudice, and lack of care.
Some people believe that it’s just a small action that won’t make a difference and could create divisions by giving certain Australians special treatment in the constitution.
The situation becomes more complex because there are people who support the “yes” side, believing that marking a choice on a ballot is a small way to oppose racism. On the other hand, there are also some Indigenous people who are against voting “yes” because they think that this vote will let Australians off the hook without taking real action against racism, and they believe that what is really needed is a treaty.
Campaigners will now try harder to win over voters who are unsure and may not vote for a specific party.
The Labor government wants people to vote yes, but the other major parties in Australia, the Liberal Party and National Party, are supporting a no vote.
The intense political atmosphere has created small fires of false information that the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has tried to stop before they spread.
For instance, the Liberal leader Peter Dutton said last week that the AEC process was not fair because the AEC commissioner stated that they would probably accept a check mark for yes but not a X mark for no.
Dutton told Sky News that he feels like they are purposely making the situation favor the yes vote, even though Australians just want a fair election, not a dishonest one.
The AEC said that they strongly disagree with the idea that by openly following the laws and rules for the referendum, they are going against fairness and neutrality.
The AEC said it must count votes that have been cast incorrectly but show a clear voting intention because the law requires it. They also mentioned that according to legal advice they have received, a cross on a ballot can sometimes be unclear and can be interpreted differently whether it implies approval or disapproval.
Apart from arguments about how things are done, this debate is about how the country sees its Indigenous people, 235 years after the British settlers came and changed the lives of those who had lived in Australia for tens of thousands of years.
Every year, the government updates its statistics that reveal the ongoing effects of colonization. These statistics provide a general overview of the Indigenous population, which consists of many different groups and makes up less than 4% of the total population. In a country with a population of 26 million, this translates to around 800,000 Indigenous individuals.
Australian history used to be told by the people who colonized the country. They didn’t pay attention to or made less important the violent beginnings of the country.
In the late 1800s, she stated that Indigenous people didn’t fit in Australia’s plan to create a nation, and as time went on and civil rights movements occurred in America and anti-apartheid movements took place, the lack of attention towards Indigenous people became very noticeable and strong.
The Indigenous community’s requests became stronger and were talked about, improved, and eventually written down as the “Uluru Statement from the Heart” – a paper supported by almost 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and elders. This statement is the foundation of the Voice proposal – something that historians widely support.
This is a very significant time because Australian historians have decided what Australian history is and who can be a historian and share that story. Right now, we are being asked to take a step back and listen to the stories and knowledge of Aboriginal people.
However, recent polls indicate that if a vote took place now, it would probably not succeed.
The campaign against the Voice is getting stronger because people are questioning the specifics and saying that voters don’t have enough information to decide on it. The government says that those details will be discussed in parliament once there is a change in the constitution.
The last time Australians were asked to vote on the rights of Indigenous people was in 1967. At that time, 90% of voters agreed to include Indigenous Australians in the population counts and have laws made specifically for them.
This time, June Oscar, who works for the Australian Human Rights Commission, is worried that some people in faraway places or those who are avoiding talking about it aren’t getting the information. This has been tough for some Indigenous people.
Oscar said that we are observing and hearing a lot of mean and hurtful things about different races regarding the referendum. He mentioned that the AHRC created a kit that helps people understand how to reduce the harm caused by this type of talk. Some tips are to focus on Indigenous knowledge, opinions, and perspectives and to avoid using offensive language based on race.
Oscar expressed feelings of sadness and disappointment about false information being spread as well.
Some people are worried that if the vote doesn’t pass, it might give the impression, whether it is true or not, that racists have succeeded. This could jeopardize the progress made over centuries in earning respect for the country’s Indigenous peoples, and future generations may suffer from it.
Oscar said he believes strongly that we can and should fix things in our lifetime, and that we shouldn’t leave the problem for future generations.
What happens if it doesn’t work.
“We start over and take lessons from this experience to be better prepared for the next opportunity. ”
But Albanese has stated that there will not be any additional opportunities.
Not voting leads to no progress. It means things stay the same. He said on Wednesday that if you vote against it, the chance to progress will be lost.
Speaking directly to Australians, he told them not to reject ideas that originate from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people or from the younger generations of Indigenous Australians.