This is beautiful.
October 7, 2022 8:40 AM Subscribe
This is beautiful. This is an ad asking Australian people to Vote Yes to support a Voice to Parliament, so that Australia's First Nations people can have a say on matters that affect them.
For a wide variety of reasons (including but not limited to the difficulty of voting in extremely geographically remote and hard to physically access areas[1]; and the fact that some First Nations voters don't speak English), while Australia's First Nations people can and do vote for the Federal government and the State governments [2], voting alone does not adequately meet this need.
[1] In some remote Aboriginal communities, polling booths might only be open for 3 to 4 hours total, as the Australian Electoral Commission staff have to fly into the community by plane or helicopter. By comparison, people in urban areas can vote between 8am and 6pm on polling day, OR have a choice of a wide range of early voting at pre-polling day voting booths.
[2] While some Aboriginal people were able to vote from 1944 onwards, other Aboriginal people did not have the right to vote until 1962 when The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 gave all Aboriginal people the option of enrolling to vote in Federal elections. It was not until 1983 and The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1983 that voting became compulsory for Aboriginal people, as it was for other Australians.
For a wide variety of reasons (including but not limited to the difficulty of voting in extremely geographically remote and hard to physically access areas[1]; and the fact that some First Nations voters don't speak English), while Australia's First Nations people can and do vote for the Federal government and the State governments [2], voting alone does not adequately meet this need.
[1] In some remote Aboriginal communities, polling booths might only be open for 3 to 4 hours total, as the Australian Electoral Commission staff have to fly into the community by plane or helicopter. By comparison, people in urban areas can vote between 8am and 6pm on polling day, OR have a choice of a wide range of early voting at pre-polling day voting booths.
[2] While some Aboriginal people were able to vote from 1944 onwards, other Aboriginal people did not have the right to vote until 1962 when The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 gave all Aboriginal people the option of enrolling to vote in Federal elections. It was not until 1983 and The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Act 1983 that voting became compulsory for Aboriginal people, as it was for other Australians.
TreeRooster, there's a round up of the latest news here.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:04 AM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:04 AM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's a good ad. I hope the First Nation people in Australia get their voice heard and get better represented.
*Goes and queues up Midnight Oil on the playlist*
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:36 AM on October 7, 2022
*Goes and queues up Midnight Oil on the playlist*
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:36 AM on October 7, 2022
Here is the Uluru Statement From The Heart website that the video references.
This cynic hopes that this leads to something more binding/powerful than the current advisory role of the voice.
posted by lalochezia at 9:45 AM on October 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
This cynic hopes that this leads to something more binding/powerful than the current advisory role of the voice.
posted by lalochezia at 9:45 AM on October 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
In some remote Aboriginal communities, polling booths might only be open for 3 to 4 hours total, as the Australian Electoral Commission staff have to fly into the community by plane or helicopter.
Remote access is hugely challenging and I don't know of any realistic solutions to it. Perhaps in this particular case, transitioning the entire country over to postal voting - already about 50% of votes for the Federal Election are postal votes, and in all the three councils I've lived in (I move a lot) the local elections are 100% postal vote only as far back as 15 years ago. But then language becomes more of an issue, and, more importantly, how would a person in such a remote area become politically educated so they could cast a meaningful vote?
I have a friend who works in public education for First Nations people and they do fly-in fly-out charter flights for teachers to go into the remote community just to teach ONE single student at a time - 1:1 instruction - because they are just that remote and isolated.
posted by xdvesper at 3:50 PM on October 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
Remote access is hugely challenging and I don't know of any realistic solutions to it. Perhaps in this particular case, transitioning the entire country over to postal voting - already about 50% of votes for the Federal Election are postal votes, and in all the three councils I've lived in (I move a lot) the local elections are 100% postal vote only as far back as 15 years ago. But then language becomes more of an issue, and, more importantly, how would a person in such a remote area become politically educated so they could cast a meaningful vote?
I have a friend who works in public education for First Nations people and they do fly-in fly-out charter flights for teachers to go into the remote community just to teach ONE single student at a time - 1:1 instruction - because they are just that remote and isolated.
posted by xdvesper at 3:50 PM on October 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
This cynic hopes that this leads to something more binding/powerful than the current advisory role of the voice.
lalochezia, what current advisory role? What body or organisation is invited to advise parliament on First Nations' issues? Serious question.
posted by Thella at 6:48 PM on October 7, 2022
lalochezia, what current advisory role? What body or organisation is invited to advise parliament on First Nations' issues? Serious question.
posted by Thella at 6:48 PM on October 7, 2022
Hey, chariot pulled by cassowaries. Welcome aboard and congrats on your second metafilter post. It's always good to hear from folk interested in Australian First Nations' issues and thank you for linking to that video, it is beautiful. Please post more and forgive me if I sometimes come across as abrupt in my comments; nothing personal is intended, I just feel strongly about these issues.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia make up only 3.3% of the population. Access (or lack of) to voting facilities has almost nothing to do with the call for a Voice to federal parliament. Aboriginal people have never had the voting power to effect change except occasionally in the Northern Territory (27% of population) and in progressive inner-city state seats with high First Nations populations where they can influence outcomes but not dominate them.
Anyone remember ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990-2005)? Initiated by the Hawke (Labor) Government, it became a representative body through which (democratically elected) Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives. But the conservative Howard Government dismantled it. Then came the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, developed in 2009 under the Rudd (Labor) Government to advocate for self-determination and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples. It too was shut down after having its funding removed by the conservative Abbott Government in 2013.
The Voice to Parliament is another iteration of these bodies, with the added foundation of being a First Nations' initiative embedding constitutional might. If it is in the Constitution, no government can kill it off.
Personally, I think the Uluru Statement from the Heart (previously & previously) is one of the most important documents ever composed in this colonised place. It is gracious and generous and grounded in truth.
For those interested how the Statement came to be, the Referendum Council Final Report is an excellent primer. Section 2.2.1 - Process on pages 16-32 summarises how the content of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including the Voice to parliament, was discussed and agreed to. See also https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/the-dialogues/
posted by Thella at 6:56 PM on October 7, 2022 [8 favorites]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia make up only 3.3% of the population. Access (or lack of) to voting facilities has almost nothing to do with the call for a Voice to federal parliament. Aboriginal people have never had the voting power to effect change except occasionally in the Northern Territory (27% of population) and in progressive inner-city state seats with high First Nations populations where they can influence outcomes but not dominate them.
Anyone remember ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990-2005)? Initiated by the Hawke (Labor) Government, it became a representative body through which (democratically elected) Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives. But the conservative Howard Government dismantled it. Then came the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, developed in 2009 under the Rudd (Labor) Government to advocate for self-determination and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples. It too was shut down after having its funding removed by the conservative Abbott Government in 2013.
The Voice to Parliament is another iteration of these bodies, with the added foundation of being a First Nations' initiative embedding constitutional might. If it is in the Constitution, no government can kill it off.
Personally, I think the Uluru Statement from the Heart (previously & previously) is one of the most important documents ever composed in this colonised place. It is gracious and generous and grounded in truth.
For those interested how the Statement came to be, the Referendum Council Final Report is an excellent primer. Section 2.2.1 - Process on pages 16-32 summarises how the content of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including the Voice to parliament, was discussed and agreed to. See also https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/the-dialogues/
posted by Thella at 6:56 PM on October 7, 2022 [8 favorites]
Thank you for this post. I was generally aware of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and Albo's recent endorsement of a referendum, but wasn't aware of the resources available at the website, and I'm glad to have a chance to learn more about it. The ad is moving.
posted by amusebuche at 11:45 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by amusebuche at 11:45 PM on October 7, 2022
I recently became a citizen after nearly 10 years living here; I am very happy that one of my first acts of voting will be the referendum on the Voice.
posted by flippant at 6:34 AM on October 8, 2022
Personally, I think the Uluru Statement from the Heart is one of the most important documents ever composed in this colonised place. It is gracious and generous and grounded in truth.100% this.
posted by flippant at 6:34 AM on October 8, 2022
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posted by TreeRooster at 8:59 AM on October 7, 2022