By ERWIN CHLANDA
The impact of Territorian votes on the referendum result will be infinitesimal because of our tiny population, and because the NT will not be counted as a state, a majority of which will be needed for the Yes case to succeed.
Yet, by head of population, we have about 10 times the nation’s Indigenous population, several Indigenous languages are alive and well, and Aboriginal people have freehold possession of half the “state’s” land.
Our two Senators are Aboriginal but on opposite sides. The NT was the birthplace of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. However, two lots of research by the Alice Springs News indicated that randomly approached Aboriginal people on the ground have little understanding of what the Voice means.
Yet a disproportionate part of the Yes campaign by prominent activists took place in The Centre, attracting far more non-Indigenous people than Indigenous ones.
Below are the headings, with links to the articles, reporting as well as comments, of the major pieces in the Alice Springs News.
They reflect the passions and conflicts of this controversial period in our public life.
Google our newspaper site for more.
Uluru Statement: A year later the debate goes on
Understanding this No, voting Yes
One Voice for On Country and one for the city
The Voice not an issue in the big bush
Voice: People decide, then Parliament fills in the details
Pushing the Voice in 1.3 million square kilometres
Voice ‘not based upon any overseas precedent’
Voice to Parliament: Scandinavia can do it, why not Australia?
Voice to respect ‘my country’ rules
Voice: Voters want chapter and verse now
Voice: A rebadged ATSIC for the Constitution?
Voice campaigner cut her teeth in the Alice
News readers are vocal as Opposition abstains from Voice vote
People with ‘minimal claims to Aboriginal ancestry’ drive Voice campaign
PM second guesses Australian people: No to Indigenous Voice to Parliament
PHOTO at top: Crowd at a Voice function during the Writers Fest in June.
The “Referendum Council” of distinguished leaders who organised the Voice, regional dialogues, and Uluru Statement presented three Outcomes in their 2017 “Final Report” – Voice, Treaty and Truth Telling.
The Treaty section says in part: “Treaty was seen as a pathway to recognition of sovereignty and for achieving future meaningful reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Treaty would be the vehicle to achieve self-determination, autonomy and self-government … Treaty could include a proper say in decision-making, the establishment of a truth commission, reparations, a settlement, the resolution of land, water and resources issues, recognition of authority and customary law, and guarantees of respect for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” (p. 31).”
There is abundant evidence of how self-government has often failed, while successes often result from sustained cross-cultural partnerships, as also recommended in the four Priority Reforms of the 2022 Closing the Gap report.
The Referendum Council report says almost nothing about education, training, health, employment, child development, safety, language and culture, which are so badly needed here.
Will the 35 new lobbyists of the Voice prioritise the basic needs of people in Central Australia, or shift the focus to their own political and financial aspirations?