This week, the Federal liberal party leader Peter Dutton, announced that his party would campaign against the yes vote for this year’s referendum on setting up an indigenous voice to parliament. What a blow! The following is the response from Noel Pearson, after the Dutton interview on ABC Radio National. In which Pearson calls Dutton out on so many issues, but in particular of taking the low road, of using it as a political gamut to preserve his own political career, rather than considering what is best for Australia as a united nation.
Extremely apposite that this occurs in the week that we have lost Yunupingu who instigated the campaign for Constitutional recognition of First Nations Peoples, and who passed the baton to Pearson to pursue and realise this goal.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-03/yunupingu-nt-aboriginal-land-rights-trailblazer-dies-age-74/102113102
and Marcia Langton talks here about how Yunupingu asked to speak to Pearson (whom he he had not met at the time) and to charge him with this task.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/noel-pearson-liberals-no-voice-great-betrayal/102194758
As Pearson points out, the Coalition had over 10 years to formulate constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations Peoples, and promised it at every election, but did not fulfil this promise.
Now, Dutton is turning it into a political lever, rather than the non-partisan issue it should be. In hindsight, Dutton has acknowledged his ‘regret’ at walking out of the apology which was finally delivered by then Labor Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. It seems that Dutton has not learned a lesson from this failure to be present, and continues to prefer to live in fear, and to take the low road. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-05/liberal-party-oppose-voice-to-parliament/102188290
Following – Posted to Facebook today 7/04/2023
**INDIGENOUS VOICE TO PARLIAMENT THIS YEAR**
There seems to be a glaring absence across all media platforms that I see about the death of this awe inspiring person, Yunupingu, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/03/yunupingu-yolu-leader-and-campaigner-for-indigenous-rights-dies-aged-74
Considering the watershed moment that we Australians are in with the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice to Parliament, I am not comfortable at all about seeing this buried in subsequent daily headlines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galarrwuy_Yunupingu (I use his full name with respect to his family to allow the link for his history to be accessible). I feel that this is important, in light of Peter Dutton’s rather demeaning comment this week about the Australian referendum voters bowing to the voice of a small number indigenous “academics” with a view to the upcoming referendum vote. Yunupingu was extremely well educated in terms of our white culture, and extremely articulate in the English language. I’ve included the Wikipedia link because it documents the representational range of his activities over the years.
Yunupingu died this week on Monday. I heard the news on Monday as it broke, while listening to an interview on Radio National with Anthony Albanese, our Labor Prime Minister.
The same day, RN’s Karvelas spoke to Marcia Langton, Indigenous academic; co-chair of the Indigenous voice to parliament design group https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/marcia-langton-pays-tribute-to-indigenous-leader-yunupingu-/102179030
Once again, the news cycle moved on, and Noel Pearson responded to Dutton’s commitment to campaign for the No vote, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/noel-pearson-liberals-no-voice-great-betrayal/102194758
And once again, very little in the headlines of our Australian media, so I think it is pretty well up to us good hearted Aussies to keep this issue uppermost, and not rely on media, to do this for us.
As Pearson says, we are 18 million people votes against 70 parliamentary votes of the Coalition, and we need to educate, inform and encourage our ‘better Australians’ to win this referendum for the good of our entire country.
Also worth noting that as of this week, Ken Wyatt who lost his seat at last election has quit the Liberal Party over its decision to formally oppose the party’s opposition to the Voice to Parliament. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-06/ken-wyatt-quits-liberals-over-voice-to-parliament-stance/102197862
