As the shock and disbelief at the results of the referendum on the Voice continue to rebound across the nation, there is a sense that the landscape has changed.
That our nation is different.
That we are not who we thought we were.
That our image of ourselves as being generous, open-minded, and supportive of a fair go has been shaken to its core.
There were clear signs of this change pre-referendum.
Signs in the emboldened comments about losing our backyards, our barbecues, even our clothes lines.
In the trotting out of stereotypes, seeds of doubt, lies, and misinformation, peddled by the No campaign and amplified through parts of the media and by some politicians.
And at times, in the pure hate-filed responses of shock jocks and the more extreme sections of social media.
There were signs of a lack of discussion with friends, acquaintances, or work colleagues about the Voice.
So many other things were discussed — the weather, the Matildas, the footy.
But there was a palpable fear floating around. Don’t talk about the referendum — unless you are sure you know how people will vote.
Hints of conversations from the past — the careful use of euphemisms to describe what was really going on, what you really thought.
Or perhaps the “Great Australian Silence” that has always been here.
But this referendum was not just another political cycle, another trip to the polling booth with the added benefit of the chance to buy something for morning tea from the local Red Cross cake stall.
Or a sense of “well that’s over, let’s move on”.
This was a referendum in response to a request for a different future.
A future that could offer our nation an opportunity to re-cast the original sin on which our nation was founded — the denial of prior sovereignty, the idea of terra nullius and the certainty of the rightness of assimilationist policies.
As Peter Lewis from ANTAR noted recently:
“Once again an opportunity to be more than a former colony of the British Empire has been missed, despite a proposition which was so gracious, modest, and accommodating to mainstream values.”
Instead, we are dealing with a different reality.
Lewis went on to say, “Some days it is hard to breathe … particularly when we hear stories of First Nations people who feel lost and placeless in their own country. We are hearing that for many, the unfolding events of Saturday, October 14, felt like an unparalleled act of racism by white Australia”.
This different reality is reflected in comments like “How do I explain this to my grannies?”
“I’ll never see us recognised in my lifetime now. It’s too late for me.”
It can be seen in the actions of a school determined to support its First Nations students — recognising the deep impact the word “No” can have on young futures.
Also in the basketball coach who commented about the lack of safety for his First Nations’ players because of the huge increase in subtle and not-so-subtle racist incidents. In the failure of any action to counter this — just a shrugging of shoulders.
So here we are now in the post-referendum time.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are in shock and are grieving the result. We feel acutely the repudiation of our peoples and the rejection of our efforts to pursue reconciliation in good faith.” — words from the open letter from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supporters of the Voice.
But in the sure words of a local Elder, “We know what this is like — we’ve been there before.”
The strength of her comments recognising that the fight for self-determination, justice, and parity has not stopped, but has just hit yet another hurdle on the way.
This determination was also reflected in the open letter:
“We will maintain the vision of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We will continue to uphold the outcomes of the Uluru Dialogues to which more than 1200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the country contributed — culminating in the Uluru Statement signed by 250 people on 26 May 2017. It is evident that many Australians are unaware of our cultures, our histories, or the racism imbued in the Australian Constitution. That so many Australian people believe there is no race or division on race in the current Australian Constitution speaks to the need for better education on Australian history and better civics education. We have faith that the upswelling of support through this referendum has ignited a fire for many to walk with us on our journey towards justice. Our truths have been silenced for too long.”
“Our work continues as it has always done. We will continue to fight to seek justice for our peoples.”
With this determination, pool of strength and leadership of First Nations people working in partnership with the more than 60,000 volunteers across Australia, there is power for change.
As Don Watson and Daniel James wrote in the recent edition of The Monthly:
“Non-Indigenous Australians with an interest in social progress should try to reach the same intellectual and imaginative level as the authors of the Voice. They need to bring the same fire and devotion, the same goodwill and something approaching poetry to the business of making a decent social democracy Australia’s natural aspiration. The best assurance of justice, hope and opportunity for the First Peoples of Australia is a re-energised general effort to build a society on those principles and restore fairness as its watchword.”
Let’s see what we can achieve together as we stay the course and walk towards what First Nations leader and academic Richard Frankland calls ‘Tomorrow Australia’.
To be part of this movement, join the Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group. Email us at respect.srrg@outlook.com
In Victoria, the First Peoples’ Assembly is the democratically elected body representing Traditional Owners of Country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Join the ‘Team Treaty’ mailing list so you can listen to First Nations’ stories, learn more about their struggles and achievements and answer calls to action. Visit www.firstpeoplesvic.org/walk-with-us/