Monday 16 October 2023

On The Voice and the fallout from the result

I have been reflecting - and grieving - as suggested, but, given the pace of debate going on now, cannot hold back entirely for the Week of Silence, so will publish news links and some initial thoughts:

  • on the night of the result panellists “have” to say nice things about healing etc, but the truth is it won’t <expletive deleted> happen. The conscious choice racists have been emboldened - especially in official bodies;   
  • I’ve long thought we need a truth commission. The problem is a lot of activists don’t mix widely enough or in depth enough outside their circle (try working on construction sites and in conservative professions for a few decades), so many people are missing basic info - they don’t know! As examples of that, I’ve heard young people say we never had slavery and immigrants say there is no discrimination! But also, a lot of people don’t know what structural/systemic racism is, nor how rampant and damaging it is, nor that one can be racist without conscious choice by supporting a racist system. A couple of news links help to illustrate some of that problem: 
  • the Royal Commission outcomes need to be implemented. 

Now, these are the news links I have accumulated so far on the Voice and First Peoples/Indigenous matters generally: 

  • “View from The Hill: There is a way forward to tackle Indigenous disadvantage after referendum defeat”   https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-there-is-a-way-forward-to-tackle-indigenous-disadvantage-after-referendum-defeat-215676   “A damning draft Productivity Commission report earlier this year highlighted failures in its implementation, mainly because the bureaucracy wasn’t properly on board. The report asked whether “governments have fully grasped the scale of change required to their systems, operations and ways of working to deliver the unprecedented shift they have committed to”.”   (This confirms, in my opinion, that my concerns about Australia’s public service are valid.)  



  • “‘Lies fuel racism’: how the global media covered Australia’s Voice to Parliament referendum”   https://theconversation.com/lies-fuel-racism-how-the-global-media-covered-australias-voice-to-parliament-referendum-215665   “A number of pieces compared Australia unfavourably with other settler-colonial nations in terms of the legal recognition of First Nations people, including New Zealand and Canada.  ... And in an interview with Reuters, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva, said the Voice debate had “exposed the hidden discriminatory attitude” in Australia towards Indigenous peoples. ... The New York Times, which had extensive coverage of the campaign, reported the country had become “ensnared in a bitter culture war” based on “Trump-style misinformation” and “election conspiracy theories”.”  


 



On the actual result:

 

From my links for activism post to aid any activism you decide to do:

  • noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM

  • noting Article 8 of the ICCPR,   Article 6 of the CEDAW,   Articles 11, and 32 - 36 of the CRC,   Articles 16 and 27 (2) of the CRPD on SLAVERY

  • noting Articles 2 (1) (also noting this, this, this, and this), 3, 7, 14 (see here and here), 15, 16, and 26 of the ICCPR,   Articles 3, 5 (a), and 6 (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 2, 12 (2), 37, 39, and 40 of the CRC,   Articles 5, 12, 13, and 14 of the CRPD,   and   Articles 1 - 2, 7 (2), 8 (2) (c), 9 - 10, 12 (2), 20 (2), 27, and 40 of the DRIP on the JUDICIARY / JUSTICE SYSTEM

  • noting the CRC on CHILDREN

  • noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

  • noting Articles 6 (1), 7, and 8 (see here) of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (i) (ii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 11 (1) (a - c) of the CEDAW,   and   Article 27 (1) of the CRPD on WORK and FAVOURABLE WORK CONDITIONS

  • noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 11 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 14 (2) (h) of the CEDAW,   Article 27 (3) of the CRC,   Article 28 of the CRPD,   and   Article 20 of the DRIP on FOOD, CLOTHING, and HOUSING 

  • noting Article 9 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iv) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Articles 11 (1) (e), 13 (a), and 14 (2) (c) of the CEDAW,    Article 26 of the CRC,   Article 28 (2) of the CRPD,   Article 21 of the DRIP,   and   ILO conventions on SOCIAL SECURITY

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing.



 

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