Voice referendum lite

December 15, 2023

THE rejection of The Voice referendum has implications beyond the bifurcation of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. First-Nation Australians and NZ Maori, as much as with indigenous peoples the world over, given the dalliance with authoritarianism - dictatorship even - in America and Europe. But the NO votes represent an unconscious and internalised reversion to type of Australia and its people more than realised. They reflect the resistance of elements of the Australian character lurking beneath the surface. Four aspects make up this Australian character, which obscure the lineal continuity of its history. The same racism, populism, masculinity, and secularism inform the injustice meted out to peoples of the First Nation as they do today get in the way of integration and full realisation of the potential in Australia’s diverse peoples. These characteristics mutually reinforce class differences that camouflage The Vote in The Voice. The majority vote was carried by a fear of perceived loss of privilege. Exploited by an Opposition Leader true to type of his leadership by negativity, in the face of a naive new-broom PM.