Why I'm voting for the voice

There are no special truths here, nor interesting argumentative maneuvers. This is, in a sense, a boring post. I believe that people should speak to others, and try to persuade them on issues that matter. That is, they should honestly try to persuade, not hector, insult, or badger. Surprisingly, few people make an effort to persuade others, even though they seem to care about the ideas they support, and even though making an honest effort to persuade is one of the best things you can do to advance an idea. This is me trying to practice what I preach and explain why you should support The Voice referendum if you live in Australia.

Indigenous people are suffering and something must be done to stop it

If you lined up all the indigenous people in Australia, ordered by income, then lined up all the non-indigenous people in Australia, again ordered by income, the indigenous person in the middle of the indigenous line would earn 540 dollars per week, and the non-indigenous person in the middle of that line would earn 805 dollars. In other words, the median indigenous person earns 67% of what the median non-indigenous person earns.

On average indigenous people live eight years less than non-indigenous Australians. Their lives are more likely to be blighted by chronic health conditions.

Indigenous people are two percent of the population, but 27% of the prison population. That is, they are overrepresented by a factor of about 13.

What these figures represent is collective and individual suffering and grief for hundreds of thousands.

Drawing attention to indigenous suffering

I don’t have a solution to all these problems, and I am certainly not saying the Voice is the solution. I do think though that the Voice is likely, at the very least, to draw attention to these problems. I also think that progress is more likely to be made on these problems if they are kept in the spotlight.

That’s the quick case for the Voice- people across Australia are suffering immensely, and the Voice will make it harder to ignore that.

The Voice is a very modest idea. It has no real powers, here is the proposed change in its entirety:

Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;

3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

If it is accepted, I think it will keep indigenous issues under the spotlight. Many of these issues- such as poverty and ill health- affect a lot of non-indigenous Australians as well.

On the other hand, if the Voice is rejected, I believe it will be taken as a signal that Australians are sick of talking about indigenous issues. It’s very interesting to me that on the third of September, Peter Dutton supported a second referendum, to recognize indigenous people in the constitution but not create an indigenous Voice, but he has now said no one wants a second referendum. I do not think he has a great investment in Indigenous people, I think he’s largely just interested in defeating this referendum, and these rapid changes reflect a cynical outlook.

If this referendum fails, the whole issue will be swept under the carpet, and those who aren’t interested in the problems I mentioned earlier will be emboldened. Voting yes is small, simple thing we can do to help. Its very smallness and modesty mean that if it is rejected, many will argue that it must be because Australians are wholly uninterested in the suffering of indigenous people.

Misrepresentation

It is certainly possible that the Voice will misrepresent indigenous Australians and their real views from time to time. In fact, it is all but certain it will do that at some point.

However, right now numerous people claim to speak for the Indigenous of Australia but were not selected to represent them specifically. Jacinta Price and Warren Mundine come to mind- political operatives. Because these people have no official obligation to represent specifically indigenous people, it is hard to hold them to account when they do not. At least if The Voice says something wildly out of step with what Indigenous people believe, we can argue and protest that. If Warren Mundine claims to be representing the interests of Indigenous people and says something totally opposed to most Indigenous people think, he can always say, if challenged, that what he said is only his own view. The Voice brings a degree of accountability.

That’s my argument, it’s not very sophisticated, but there are no prizes for sophistication here, like a lot of politics, it’s just a matter of trying your best to be the kind of person who’s trying to help. I’ll conclude by asking you to think about it from a longer point of view. What forces will be emboldened if it loses? How will the media interpret the public’s decision if the referendum is rejected? What messages will politicians take from it? I do not think it will be conducive to a kinder or more just society.

A bear in Opal