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	Indigenous Australians profoundly disappointed by Referendum Result by From the Heart, Reconciliation Australia, agencies Australia   Oct. 2023   A number of Indigenous leaders who supported the Yes case at last week’s Voice referendum on constitutional recognition have written to the prime minister saying the No vote was a “shameful victory”.   "That people who came to our country in only the last 235 years would reject the recognition of this continent's First Peoples — on our sacred land which we have cared for and nurtured for more than 65,000 years — is so appalling and mean-spirited as to be utterly unbelievable a week following," the letter reads.   "It is clear no reform of the Constitution that includes our peoples will ever succeed."   The referendum proposed to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the Australian constitution. That was one of the key proposals of the 2017 Uluru statement from the heart, along with treaty and truth telling.   “In refusing our peoples’ right to be heard on matters that affect us, Australia chose to make itself less liberal and less democratic,” the groups said.   “Our right to be heard continues to exist both as a democratic imperative for this nation and as our inherent right to self-determination.”   The Indigenous leaders who endorsed the letter attributed the historic referendum loss to a lack of bipartisanship, as well as "lies in political advertisement and communication" and racism.   "The support for the referendum collapsed from the moment Liberal and National Party leaders, Mr Dutton and Mr Littleproud, chose to oppose the Voice to Parliament proposal after more than a decade of bipartisan support," the letter reads.   "The proposal was tracking 60 per cent support compared to 40 per cent opposition for several years until the National and Liberal parties preferred wanton political damage over support for some of this country's most disadvantaged people. There was little the Yes campaign could do to countervail this".   The groups said the scale of “deliberate disinformation and misinformation was unprecedented, and it proliferated, unchecked, on social media, repeated in mainstream media and unleashed a tsunami of racism against our people”.   The letter stated the campaign slogan “If you don’t know – vote no” gave “expression to ignorance and licensed the abandonment of civic responsibility on the part of many voters who voted no”.   "The truth is that the majority of Australians have committed a shameful act whether knowingly or not, and there is nothing positive to be interpreted from it. We needed truth to be told to the Australian people”.   "This rejection will not deter us from speaking our Voice to governments, parliaments and to the Australian people," the letter reads.   "While this moment will be etched into Australia's history forever, today we think of our children, and our children's children. Our work continues as it has always done."   The Central Land Council, one of four land councils in the Northern Territory, said the referendum result showed Australia was a “country that does not know itself”.   “Those of us who have been around for a long time recognise how it feels,” it said. “We have been here before. We are sad but we know that we must stay strong".   “Others in our communities, especially young people, are in shock and disbelief. We need to work together and support each other. We will keep fighting for equality, fighting for land, fighting for water, fighting for housing, infrastructure, good jobs, education, closing the gap – a future for our children.”   The CLC noted that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people all over remote Australia voted yes.   14 October, 2023   A Statement from Indigenous Australians who supported The Voice   Recognition in the constitution of the descendants of the original and continuing owners of Australia would have been a great advance for Australians. Alas, the majority have rejected it.   This is a bitter irony. That people who have only been on this continent for 235 years would refuse to recognise those whose home this land has been for 60,000 and more years is beyond reason.   It was never in the gift of these newcomers to refuse recognition to the true owners of Australia. The referendum was a chance for newcomers to show a long-refused grace and gratitude and to acknowledge that the brutal dispossession of our people underwrote their every advantage in this country.   For more than six years, we have explained to our nation why the Voice was our great hope to achieve real change for our families and communities.   To the Australians who supported us in this vote – we thank you sincerely. You comprise many millions of Australians of love and goodwill. We know you wanted a better future for Australia, and to put the colonial past behind us by choosing belated recognition and justice.   We thank the Prime Minister and his government for having the conviction to take this referendum to the Australian people at our request. We thank all parliamentarians who advocated for the voice. We also thank our fellow Australians from all sectors of the community for their support. To the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets, knocked on doors and made over a million phone calls, thank you for your love and support.   Our deep chagrin at this result does not in any way diminish our pride and gratefulness for the stand they had the moral courage to take in this cause now lost. We know we have them by our side in the ongoing cause for justice and fairness in our own land.   Now is not the time to dissect the reasons for this tragic outcome. This will be done in the weeks, years and decades to come. Now is the time for silence, to mourn and deeply consider the consequence of this outcome.   Much will be asked about the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result. The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question.   To our people we say: do not shed tears. This rejection was never for others to issue. The truth is that rejection was always ours to determine. The truth is that we offered this recognition and it has been refused. We now know where we stand in this our own country. Always was. Always will be.   We will not rest long. Pack up the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Fly our flags low. Talk not of recognition and reconciliation. Only of justice and the rights of our people in our own country. Things that no one else can gift us, but to which we are entitled by fact that this is the country of our birth and inheritance.   Re-gather our strength and resolve, and when we determine a new direction for justice and our rights, let us once again unite. Let us convene in due course to carefully consider our path forward.   We are calling A Week of Silence from tonight (Saturday 14th October) to grieve this outcome and reflect on its meaning and significance. We will not be commenting further on the result at this time.   We will be lowering our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to half-mast for the week of silence to acknowledge this result. We ask others to do the same".   http://ulurustatement.org/a-statement-from-indigenous-australians-who-supported-the-voice-referendum/ http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/december/megan-davis/truth-after-voice#mtr http://ulurustatement.org/education/news/ http://alc.org.au/newsroom/media-releases/a-statement-from-indigenous-australians-who-supported-the-voice-referendum/ http://www.reconciliation.org.au/referendum-result-profound-disappointment/   Sep. 2023   When governments listen to people, they get better outcomes and use funding more effectively.   In 2017, after many years of work and conversations in every part of Australia, 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and elders issued the Uluru Statement from the Heart calling for the recognition of the First Nation peoples of Australia in the Australian Constitution through a Voice to Parliament and Government.   Asking their fellow Australians for help to make practical changes in their lives, to create better opportunities for their children.   A Voice that will be a committee of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who will give advice to the Australian Parliament and Government on issues that directly affect their communities. A Voice that will include Indigenous Australians from every state and territory, representatives from the regions and remote communities. Members chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their local areas.   Australians from all walks of life, all faiths and cultures, and all sides of politics have expressed their strong support for this important call for change.   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have 65,000 years of continous settlement and connection to the lands and waters of Australia. Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have enriched Australia with their culture and creativity, their knowledge of the land and waters, and their contribution to Australian life. Yet, there remains many significant challenges facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a life expectancy 8 years shorter than non-Aboriginal Australians. Health outcomes are similarly unequal with worse rates of disease and infant mortality experienced by First Nations people. A suicide rate disturbingly twice as high as non-indigenous Australians.   Adult Indigenous imprisonment rates more than 13 times higher than the imprisonment rate for non-Indigenous Australians. First Nation people confront higher unemployment rates and are over-represented among people who are homeless and those seeking assistance with housing. Indigenous Australians continue to experience discrimination and racism in settings across Australia.   The current approach isn’t working. To close the gaps, find better solutions and plan for the future we need to listen to advice directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves about issues affecting their lives and communities. When governments listen to people about issues that affect them, they make better decisions and get better results.   Patrick Dodson, Senator for Western Australia, Yawuru Elder:   “When people on the ground are listened to and engaged, better laws and policies are made. Advice from the Voice will make our decisions and directions more informed and more successful. Recognition in the Constitution will help heal our nation.”   Aunty Pat Anderson, Co-Chair Uluru Dialogues, Alyawarre woman:   “When you involve people, you make better decisions and the money you spend goes where it’s needed most: to the people on the ground.”   Robert French, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia 2008-2017 and Geoffrey Lindell, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Adelaide:   “The Voice is a big idea but not a complicated one. The Voice will provide a practical opportunity for First Peoples to give informed and coherent and reliable advice to the Parliament and the Government.”   Evonne Goolagong Cawley, former tennis world number one, Wiradjuri woman:   “Voting Yes is a chance for all Australians to celebrate the contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made to our country and to help the next generation chase their dreams. Let’s grab this moment with both hands.”   Rachel Perkins, Arrernte/Kalkadoon woman:   “Our people have spent decades campaigning for the opportunity of a better life. We’ve never been more determined or more united. The Voice is our best shot, let’s take it.”   Eddie Betts, Gubrun, Wirangu/Kokatha man:   “I know the Voice won’t fix everything overnight but it’s the opening of a pathway to make sure we are included and respected in decision-making on issues that impact us.”   The Voice will offer advice from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people directly to Government on practical steps to improve Indigenous health, education, employment and housing. 86% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across Australia have expressed their strong support for The Voice.   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have inhabited the country for 65,000 years. In 2023, after more than 250 years of white settlement, all Australians must unite to vote Yes to finally recognise the nation’s First Peoples in the constitution of the country.   25 former Australians of the Year urge a Yes vote:   "As Australians of the Year, past and present, we wish to indicate our heartfelt support for a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice and respectfully urge Australians to vote 'Yes' in the upcoming referendum on October 14th.   We respect the generous invitation extended within the Uluru Statement from the Heart to come together to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution, and ensure that they have a voice in government decision-making, especially in matters that impact on their daily realities. The Uluru statement responds to over two centuries of dispossession, pain and suffering with generosity and love.   As First Peoples of this nation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' enduring connection with Australia stretches back for 60 thousand years, and represents the unique, intrinsic essence of our past, present and future. This truth has been ignored and denied until the very recent past, and we now are at a fork in the road. We must choose the high road to inclusiveness and respect. The low road leads us into a shameful dead end, with unimaginable consequences for our national identity and self respect.   Many other nations with colonial histories similar to ours, notably Canada, Norway and New Zealand have already taken the high road. So we know that a mutually advantageous outcome is possible.   Since colonisation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been subjected to 235 years of destructive or ineffectual policies, which have had devastating impacts on cultural integrity and a slew of social and health outcomes. The effective exclusion of indigenous voices from decision-making has been at best useless and costly and, at worst, damaging, blocking any meaningful progress. There is overwhelming evidence that, when given a voice, services are effective and lead to improvements in outcomes, as happened during the Covid pandemic.   The Voice is about ensuring that our First Nations people have a genuine say in matters that impact on their lives. For too long they have been worse than powerless. A Yes vote in this referendum represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure inclusion and respect, to empower, to make long overdue progress towards closing the gap, and to finally bring all of us together as Australians on a level playing field. It is not about giving one community an advantage but about reducing a severe and unacceptable level of disadvantage and discrimination. A Yes vote is a step to a more united and cohesive nation, conscious of the past and looking together to the future".   http://www.reconciliation.org.au/support-a-voice-to-parliament/ http://ulurustatement.org/news/ http://www.reconciliation.org.au/large-diverse-support-for-the-voice-to-parliament/ http://alliesforuluru.antar.org.au/ http://www.naccho.org.au/naccho-statement-voice-to-parliament/ http://www.lowitja.org.au/page/services/policy-and-advocacy/why-constitutional-recognition-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-matters-for-health http://www.lowitjaconference.org.au/conference-videos/ http://www.acoss.org.au/media-releases/?media_release=voice-legislation-builds-momentum-for-yes-vote http://beta.actu.org.au/media-release/actu-commits-to-support-yes-campaign-on-first-nations-voice/ http://www.multiculturalforvoice.org/ http://www.ncca.org.au/first-nations-resources/resources/item/3115-churches-on-a-voice-to-parliament-2023062 http://empoweredcommunities.org.au/the-voice/ http://yyf.com.au/advocacy/empowered-communities/ http://empoweredcommunities.aflip.in/c49cdd2395.html#page/1 http://australiainstitute.org.au/post/leading-judges-support-the-voice/ http://www.hollows.org/au/supporting-a-voice-to-parliament   The majority of the Australian community supports taking practical action on reconciliation says Dean Parkin, Director of From the Heart   A majority of Australians want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a say in their own affairs, showing exactly why constitutional recognition through an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is so important.   Support for an Indigenous national representative body – constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament – continues to grow with 86% of Indigenous people backing a change in the Reconciliation Australia biannual Barometer report.   Dean Parkin, Director of From the Heart said: “The majority of the Australian community supports taking practical action on reconciliation, while some members of the political class are taking up column inches in the newspapers trying to undermine taking action to address indigenous disadvantage.”   This survey demonstrates the Australian people understand that the way to address the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader community is through input from people on the ground.   “While opponents of constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament try to stoke negativity, fear and division, these findings demonstrate Australians want to be part of a positive moment of unity. They are overwhelmingly ready to move forward.”   The survey finds that the majority of Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, believe the creation of a national representative Indigenous body is important and such a body should be protected under the constitution.   “The findings on constitutional protection are telling,” Mr Parkin said. “It shows that Australians know the Voice to Parliament has to be above conventional party politics and the only way we can do that is by putting it in the hands of the people through a referendum.   “For decades we have watched the political class unable to rise to the opportunities for reconciliation and recognition sought by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.   “For our nation to seize this generational opportunity, the Australian people must be given their say. This survey shows they are ready for it, and ready to say Yes to constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament.   “The Australian community know we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect real change. Constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament is our opportunity for a fair and practical change that will unify our nation.”   The Australian Reconciliation Barometer is a national research study conducted by Reconciliation Australia every two years since 2008, measuring the attitudes and experiences towards reconciliation across the country. The 2022 report samples more than 2500 Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians from across the country.   * Australia will hold a referendum in October 2023 to recognise and enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Australian Constitution. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice will be an independent, representative advisory body for First Nations people. It will provide a permanent means to advise the Australian Parliament and Government on the views of First Nations people on matters that affect them: http://ulurustatement.org/ http://fromtheheart.com.au/   July 2023   Governments falling short on Closing the Gap commitments   Australian governments do not appear to have grasped the nature and scale of change required to accelerate improvements in life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.   The Australian Productivity Commission’s first overarching review of the Agreement highlights the lack of meaningful progress in implementing the four key priority reforms set out by all governments and the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations in 2020.   “This Agreement held – and continues to hold – significant promise. It takes a different approach: a partnership between government and peak Indigenous groups focused on lifting outcomes by changing the systems and structures that drive them. But so far we are seeing too much business-as-usual and too little real transformation,” said Productivity Commission Chair Michael Brennan.   The report finds that, despite their commitment to do so, governments are not yet sharing power with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a way that enables decisions to be made in genuine partnership. It shows that little effort has been made to reform government agencies or to strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled sector.   “Consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people cannot be on solutions that are pre-determined – governments need to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make decisions for themselves and their communities,” said Commissioner Natalie Siegel-Brown.   http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/closing-the-gap-review/draft#media-release http://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/annual-data-report http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/12/closing-the-gap-just-four-targets-on-track-with-four-going-backwards-in-latest-report http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/aug/10/indigenous-children-could-be-among-the-greatest-beneficiaries-of-the-voice http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/06/whatever-the-voice-votes-result-australia-has-a-racism-problem-we-must-tackle   Mar. 2023   This referendum is for the people to decide, not politicians, by Dean Parkin.   The decision by the federal Liberal party and National Party to oppose an Indigenous voice to parliament only validates the strategy of having a referendum in the first place: it is the people, not the politicians who will get this right.   Indigenous people have known this for some time. In a campaign to win a referendum, you must extend the hand of understanding and generosity to everyone, regardless of the banner behind which they march.   This has been, and will continue to be, our approach even when it is suggested we are flogging a dead horse.   The decision this week marks an unsatisfactory end to 16 years of toil and persuasion by many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to create bipartisanship support for recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution.   While unsatisfactory, it has only served to strengthen our resolve to win.   Earlier this week, there was the news that one of the giants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history had passed away in his homeland of north-east Arnhem Land. An old man who knew better than anyone the type of unshakeable conviction and determination to strive for the win, no matter how daunting the challenge.   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s advocacy for change is never powered by a single moment or goal but is rooted in our connection to our past and a future yet to be determined. The legacy this old man has gifted to us will power us towards our goal of a successful referendum this year.   We are not short of motivation in this campaign. In fact, we are more resolved than ever.   The first is that people of goodwill are prepared to listen and be persuaded that a successful referendum on a voice is a good thing for our nation. This is not a matter of hope. It stems from the experience of many years where Australians from all walks of life, regardless of voting intention, have opened their ears and their hearts to the call for meaningful constitutional recognition. They understand this is an issue above business-as-usual politics, something all Australians have had a gutful of.   The second is that this referendum is not for the politicians but for the people to decide. We are confident that Australians want to be part of a referendum that modestly updates our 122-year-old constitution to recognise over 65,000 years of continuous Indigenous connection.   We are confident they will listen to legal experts, including former high court judges, that have confirmed that a voice to parliament is a legally safe way to constitutionally recognise Indigenous Australians.   They will gain confidence that over 80% of Indigenous Australians support constitutional recognition in the form of a voice to parliament.   Despite all the noise coming from naysayers, Australians know that constitutional recognition through a voice is a simple proposal whose time has come.   * Dean Parkin is director of the yes campaign alliance   Recognise the just demands and rightful place of the First Peoples of this land, by Stan Grant. (Edited extract)   Australia lags behind the world when it comes to Indigenous rights and recognition. Of all former or current Commonwealth countries, Australia is the only nation not to have negotiated treaties with its First Peoples. In Canada and the United States, First Nations people enjoy sovereign rights — Indigenous people here do not.   The Sami people in Scandinavian countries have their own parliament. Maori people in Aotearoa — New Zealand — have the Treaty of Waitangi, their language is widely spoken, there are dual places names and Maori seats in parliament.   Australian liberal democracy is being asked to do what it has never been able to do: recognise the just demands and rightful place of the First Peoples of this land. It has taken two centuries of colonisation and more than a century of federation to get even this far.   But First Nations leaders have chipped away. They have worked through the courts, raised petitions and marched on the streets to gouge out any concessions from a nation that has obstinately refused to recognise us as our own people.   The Voice, according to polling, enjoys majority support among First Nations people. But not unanimous. Some are opposed because they seek more than a Voice; some are unsure or still not informed; others may be supportive, but are wary of being disappointed.   Politics is the attempt to rescue hope from disappointment. First Nations people have had two centuries of disappointment. First Nations people are the most impoverished and the most imprisoned people in the country.   But the cold political reality is that this is the moment. This is the proposed question. There is nothing else, at least at a national level.. The political calculation for First Nations people is whether we can come together to win a "yes" vote. Then through the Voice push on for Treaty making and Truth telling of our history.   http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/indigenous-affairs/2023/10/14/marcia-langton-whatever-the-outcome-reconciliation-dead#mtr http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/oct/14/rejecting-the-voice-shows-australia-is-still-in-denial-its-history-of-forgetting-a-festering-wrong http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/14/indigenous-australians-grapple-with-gut-wrenching-result-but-pledge-to-keep-fighting http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/04/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-tom-calma-racism http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/13/voice-referendum-2023-ken-wyatt-accuses-peter-dutton-fear-and-division   http://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/vision-and-values/our-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-community/the-voice-to-parliament.html http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/09/16/the-voice-our-brexit-moment#mtr http://nit.com.au/09-06-2023/6301/all-northern-territory-land-councils-unite-to-issue-historic-declaration-supporting-the-voice-and-constitutional-recognition http://nit.com.au/search-results/the-voice http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/indigenous-affairs/2023/08/05/the-pearson-interview-how-does-the-elephant-sit-down-with-the#mtr http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/16/all-indigenous-people-want-is-a-say-in-our-own-affairs-a-voice-will-help-us-get-it http://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/comment/topic/2023/08/11/missed-voice-messages#mtr http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/06/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-marcia-langton   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/11/julian-leeser-resigns-from-shadow-cabinet-over-liberals-voice-stance http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/09/11/qa-australias-referendum-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-voice http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/topic/voice-referendum   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/07/peter-dutton-and-the-voice-what-the-liberal-party-has-got-wrong-about-indigenous-recognition http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/07/if-yes-campaign-for-indigenous-voice-loses-racists-will-feel-emboldened-marcia-langton-says http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/05/indigenous-voice-no-campaign-event-reinforced-racist-stereotypes-watchdog-says http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/06/liberal-party-accused-of-turning-its-back-on-indigenous-people-by-opposing-voice http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/06/peter-duttons-decision-to-oppose-indigenous-voice-is-a-judas-betrayal-of-australia-noel-pearson-says   * The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which was endorsed by hundreds of Indigenous leaders, called for the creation of a Voice to parliament that would provide advice on laws and policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.   http://ulurustatement.org/our-story/ http://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/the-dialogues/ http://fromtheheart.com.au/education/#/ http://voice.niaa.gov.au/final-report http://apo.org.au/node/316024 http://coalitionofpeaks.org.au/urgent-need-for-governments-to-implement-the-national-agreement-on-closing-the-gap-in-full-as-new-data-paints-grim-picture/ http://coalitionofpeaks.org.au/priority-reforms/   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/29/national-party-out-of-touch-with-regional-australia-on-indigenous-voice-campaigner-says http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/01/jacinta-price-doesnt-speak-for-my-people-and-her-stance-shows-why-australia-needs-the-indigenous-voice http://www.clc.org.au/yes/ http://www.clc.org.au/central-land-council-holds-senators-price-and-liddle-to-account/ http://www.sheppnews.com.au/national/nationals-ignored-voice-report-wyatt/ http://empoweredcommunities.org.au/empowered-communities-letter-to-pm-and-opposition-leader/   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/23/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-noel-pearson-warns-coalition-spoiling-game http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/13/marcia-langton-attacks-relentless-scare-campaign-waged-by-opponents-of-indigenous-voice http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/jan/25/the-day-of-mourning-in-1938-set-out-a-peaceful-beautiful-message-the-voice-is-a-legacy-of-that-unfinished-business http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/indigenous-voice-to-parliament http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/we-need-a-voice-so-politicians-cant-pick-and-choose-the-indigenous-voices/tsktoc5h1   http://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/01/the-hatred-and-greed-of-the-frontier-wars-still-drive-race-politics-today-how-little-things-change http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/first-australians http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/news-series/the-point http://gambay.com.au/languages/ http://aiatsis.gov.au/whats-new/podcasts/voices-power http://aiatsis.gov.au/whats-new/news/first-look-monumental-disruptions http://www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/media-releases/australia-must-formally-adopt-un-declaration-on-rights-of-indigenous-people http://www.anu.edu.au/about/strategic-planning/indigenous-voice-to-parliament http://togetheryes.com.au/why-yes http://passingthemessagestick.org/winning-yes http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/peace-prize-recipients/2021-uluru-statement-from-the-heart/ http://www.reconciliation.org.au/2022-arb-shows-trust-is-strong/ http://australiainstitute.org.au/post/majority-of-australians-support-uluru-statement/
	Chile’s Mapuche Indians Hurt by Rejection of a Plurinational Constitution by Orlando Milesi Inter Press Service Chile   Mapuche indigenous leaders were hit hard by what they see as a collective defeat: the rejection in a September referendum of a plurinational, intercultural constitution proposed to Chile by an unprecedented constituent assembly with gender parity and indigenous representatives.   “We felt devastated, some leaders cried. This defeat never crossed our minds because we thought this was going to change,” Nelly Hueichan, president of the Mapuche Trepein Community, a women’s collective in the Lo Hermida municipality on the southside of Santiago, told IPS.   “For our people there has never been an easy solution…This is not the first time that we have been defeated,” added the 64-year-old activist.   “It was a tremendous challenge and an opportunity to change this society that has discriminated against us so much,” she said. “Now we have to stand up and resume the fight. We continue to organize and get ourselves ready.”   More than 13 million of Chile’s 19.5 million people voted in the Sept. 4 referendum, when 61.86 percent of voters (7,882,238) cast their ballot against the draft constitution and only 38.14 percent (4,859,039) voted to approve it.   Thus, voters rejected the proposal approved by more than two-thirds of the 154 elected members of the constituent assembly that sought to turn Chile into a plurinational and intercultural state.   According to the last census, 1.8 million Chileans belong to an indigenous group. The Mapuches make up the largest native community (80 percent of the total). They come from the south of the country, but half have moved away from there, mainly to Santiago. The next biggest communities are the Aymaras (7.1 percent) and the Diaguitas (4 percent), followed by the Atacameno, Quechua, Rapa Nui, Colla, Chango, Kawesqar and Yagan peoples.   The rejected constitution contained “the dreams of those who were not and have not been in power; it proposed a new path for Chileans that the citizens did not want to take,” said Mapuche linguist and professor Elisa Loncon, who presided over the first period of the constituent assembly.   Salvador Millaleo, a Mapuche professor at the University of Chile Law School, told IPS that “without a doubt indigenous peoples were harmed and damaged the most, because the proposal that was rejected had the most comprehensive framework of rights that has ever been put forth.”   The campaign for the “no” vote ahead of the referendum argued that excessive rights would be given to indigenous people, giving them a privileged position over other Chileans. The fearmongering played on long-standing racism embedded in Chilean society.   This racism was nourished by the repressive policies imposed on indigenous people by successive governments, especially the 1973-1990 dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.   Back then, the conflict over ownership of land claimed by indigenous groups but now in private hands, especially of forestry companies, was declared non-existent. In addition, Mapuche activists were tried and sentenced as terrorists, when they carried out actions demanding the return of their ancestral lands.   Indigenous leaders are demanding reparations for the violation of the human rights of the Mapuche people during crackdowns by the authorities and argue that priority must be given to the issue of usurped lands.   The poor handling of the Mapuche question means that the southern regions where most of them live are the poorest in Chile, plagued by precarious jobs and high unemployment, as well as serious deficiencies in education, infrastructure and healthcare.   “A fairly generalized climate has been generated among the political elites that are opposed to or do not prioritize the rights of indigenous peoples,” said Millaleo.   This environment contrasts with the one prevailing during the 2019 protests under the government of rightwing president Sebastian Pinera (2018-2022), when Mapuche flags were raised in the massive demonstrations.   “Back then we were all very happy, but the leaders had little awareness that they had to consolidate this support, adopt strategies, seek broader backing in the indigenous world and among non-governmental organizations, and keep people in the territories informed,” said Millaleo.   The triumph of the “no” vote was the other side of the coin from the majority election of independent constituents in May 2021, which culminated in the installation two months later of a constituent assembly presided over by Loncon.   Maria Hueichaqueo chairs one of the 130 Mapuche organizations in Santiago: the Tain Adkimn Mapuche Indigenous Association in the working-class municipality of La Pintana, where the population is 16 percent indigenous.   At the same time, rightwing politicians convinced many voters that indigenous people would take over the Chilean territory if the new constitution was approved.   “Nowhere in the world have indigenous peoples seized land that was ancestrally ours,” said Hueichaqueo. “In some cases mechanisms, treaties or agreements have been created to solve conflicts over land.”   “I was born in a ruca (traditional Mapuche house) and at the age of seven months I came here with my mother. My father is a cacique (chief) and lives in the Lonko Jose Poulef Community in Chol Chol,” she told IPS at the Antu Mapu (Land of the Sun) campus, the largest University of Chile campus, where the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine is located.   According to Hueichaqueo, “what is happening is that the powers that be do not want to lose power. They feel that if the indigenous peoples have rights, their power will decline.”   The activist acknowledged that “we were unable to make a deeper analysis of the situation we were experiencing, in order to better understand what kind of representatives we needed in the constituent assembly.”   “Unfortunately not all of our indigenous brothers and sisters handled themselves well in the assembly,” she said. “Some took very extreme positions not in line with the real situation in the country. We are aware of the land claims and the violations of human rights. But that has to do with the State and we were talking about a new constitution, about everyone living together in the same territories.”   According to Hueichaqueo, the indigenous constituents distanced themselves from the organizations. To illustrate, she pointed out that some were elected with a large number of votes but then, in their own territories, a majority voted against the draft constitution.   Millaleo said that another mistake made by the indigenous representatives was “not daring to ask the radicalized groups that did not support the constituent assembly process to put down their weapons, and to clearly differentiate themselves from these groups.”   Hueichaqueo said that now the Mapuche people “are in a state of reflection. But we’re not sitting with our arms crossed, because indigenous peoples have a history of more than 500 years of mobilization and demands, and they are not going to stop us because of a constituent assembly that failed.”   “If it is not us, it will be our children, and if it is not our children it will be our grandchildren, but our demands will continue to be voiced as long as the Chilean State does not listen to the peoples and does not recognize the rights that it needs to recognize,” she said.   Hueichaqueo said she was “pessimistic regarding how much progress can be made in any new constitution that could be drafted because neither the State nor the government nor the political class are delivering democratic, participatory and governance guarantees” in this new process.   The Chilean Congress approved a new process with a committee of 24 experts elected by an equal number of votes from the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, which will draft a new constitution. It will start working on Mar. 6, the same day that another technical-administrative commission of 14 experts also appointed by Congress will be installed.   On May 7, 50 members of a joint Constitutional Council will be elected by Chile’s voters, with a gender balance and a minimum number of indigenous representatives. It will have five months to set forth a new constitution drawn up based on the preliminary draft created by the experts. On Dec. 17, the new draft constitution will be submitted to a referendum.   But according to Loncon, this strategy is aimed at continuing to exclude indigenous people. “Today they intend to write the new constitution with a discredited political elite, which will never speak the language of the peoples because they are not the peoples, and we can suspect that they only seek to maintain their positions of power and their benefits,” she said.   For 50-year-old poet Elicura Chihuailaf, the first Mapuche to win the National Literature Prize, in 2020, it is difficult to understand the defeat “after it seemed that the majority of the population of Chile began to recognize it also has native heritage.”   Speaking to IPS from Cunco, 736 kilometers south of Santiago, he said that he sees ignorance among Chileans about the world view of native peoples.   “Everything that happened had to do to a great extent with the media, because of that superficial and alienated group that owns the media,” he asserted. In his opinion, “history has been handled in a manner biased by the vested interests of a small group that I have called the superficial or alienated Chile, which has written its own version of history.”   “It ignores what was and continues to be the occupation of a territory, of a country, which was called and continues to be called ‘wal mapu’, the meeting of all the lands”, in the Mapuche language, Chihuailaf said.   “When you talk about development, it is said that the native peoples do not want it, but our peoples say we want development, but with nature and not against it,” he argued.   The award-winning poet said “the first step to recover the dignity of this country is for the popular classes to recognize their identity, and acknowledge that it comes from native peoples and that all cultures are important.”   “That the most beautiful blackness, the most beautiful yellowness, the most beautiful whiteness and the most beautiful brownness are neither more nor less than others,” he said. 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