The Referendum 12 Months On

October 18, 2024

The Referendum 12 months on may as well be lightyears away. In reality, the Referendum was a top-down neoliberal concept (stunt) that would never have worked, not in a million years!

In April 2023 I wrote:

Story of Our Age Join the party centre stage To unite and engage Come ‘n’ share your rage It’s the story of our age

We’ll vote on the voice The people will have a choice They’ll proceed to vote it down You get what comes around

It was an observation of the public in general, of the racism, the bigotry, the bile and the hysteria whipped up by those who are opposed to the betterment of First Australians. The majority of the electorate failed to understand what they were voting for. Talk about snatching ignominy from the jaws of honour!!

To emphasise exactly where Australian politics stands on Indigenous issues, the Labor Party then failed to ratify the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People although it was endorsed in 2009. The bill was presented to Parliament in December 2023 for its second reading and was subsequently voted down by the Government and Opposition.