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:
- “3 key moments in Indigenous political history Victorian school students didn’t learn about” https://theconversation.com/3-key-moments-in-indigenous-political-history-victorian-school-students-didnt-learn-about-213756
- “More prisons not the answer: Anti-prison initiative slams Palaszczuk government's decision to build new youth remand centre” https://nit.com.au/12-10-2023/8079/more-prisons-not-the-answer-anti-prison-initiative-slams-palaszczuk-governments-decision-to-build-new-youth-remand-centre
- 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:
- “Voice to Parliament referendum Yes campaigners call for week of silence after defeat” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-14/yes-campaigners-call-for-week-of-silence-after-voice-defeat/102977864
- “65000 years strong – Clothing The Gaps” https://www.clothingthegaps.com.au/pages/65000-years-strong with video at https://youtu.be/6tDOj9QtLRw?si=ixy787uHbMPEhgKi
- “Indigenous Australians grapple with ‘gut-wrenching’ result but pledge to ‘keep fighting’” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/14/indigenous-australians-grapple-with-gut-wrenching-result-but-pledge-to-keep-fighting
- “If there is to be any healing after the Voice referendum, it will be a long journey” https://theconversation.com/if-there-is-to-be-any-healing-after-the-voice-referendum-it-will-be-a-long-journey-214370
- “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.)
- “The political subjugation of First Nations peoples is no longer historical legacy” https://theconversation.com/the-political-subjugation-of-first-nations-peoples-is-no-longer-historical-legacy-213752
- “As Australians reject the Voice, Marcia Langton declares Reconciliation 'dead'” https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australians-say-no-to-the-voice-before-polls-close-in-the-west/yt2y7eb9s
- “Albanese wanted to end two centuries of silence, but we said no – and failed our First Nations people” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/oct/14/albanese-wanted-to-end-two-centuries-of-silence-but-we-said-no-and-failed-our-first-nations-people
- “Rejecting the voice shows Australia is still in denial, its history of forgetting a festering wrong” https://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
- “The referendum did not divide this country: it exposed it. Now the racism and ignorance must be urgently addressed” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/15/the-referendum-did-not-divide-this-country-it-exposed-it-now-the-racism-and-ignorance-must-be-urgently-addressed
- “Voice referendum results point to shifting faultlines in Australian politics” https://theconversation.com/voice-referendum-results-point-to-shifting-faultlines-in-australian-politics-215673
- “Thomas Mayo blames Voice defeat on politicians who 'lied to the
Australian people'” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3scbGDttFTo
- “All Hail Our Glorious Leader: Rupert Murdoch” https://theaimn.com/all-hail-our-glorious-leader-rupert-murdoch/
- “Yes campaign sheds tears for a brutal result – but also for the dark victory of misinformation” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/14/yes-campaign-sheds-tears-for-a-brutal-result-but-also-for-the-dark-victory-of-misinformation
- “Peter Dutton is Australia’s figurehead of fear and fake news, like Trump but without charisma” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/oct/14/peter-dutton-is-australias-figurehead-of-fear-and-fake-news-like-trump-but-without-charisma
- Dutton has, in my opinion, further shown his true colours with this: “Peter Dutton walks back offer of second referendum after voice poll” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/16/peter-dutton-second-referendum-australian-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-poll
- “How did the media perform on the Voice referendum? Let’s talk about truth-telling and impartiality” https://theconversation.com/how-did-the-media-perform-on-the-voice-referendum-lets-talk-about-truth-telling-and-impartiality-214961
- “‘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”.”
- “What did the NO vote actually achieve?” https://theaimn.com/what-did-the-no-vote-actually-achieve/
- “Going by no voice campaign’s arguments, federation itself would have been defeated” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/15/going-by-no-voice-campaigns-arguments-federation-itself-would-have-been-defeated
- “Five insights from the referendum: Liberals win the battle but lose the war” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/15/five-insights-from-the-referendum-liberals-win-the-battle-but-lose-the-war
- “View from The Hill: Anthony Albanese promises to continue to ‘advance reconciliation’ despite sweeping defeat of referendum” https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-anthony-albanese-promises-to-continue-to-advance-reconciliation-despite-sweeping-defeat-of-referendum-215662
- “We are better than this” https://theaimn.com/we-are-better-than-this/
- “AEC responds after Jacinta Nampijinpa Price questions ‘conduct’ in Indigenous communities that voted yes” https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/15/jacinta-nampijinpa-price-questions-aec-conduct-after-largely-indigenous-communities-vote-yes
On the actual result:
- “Voice to Parliament defeated as 'No' wins clear majority in NSW, South Australia and Tasmania” https://nit.com.au/14-10-2023/8136/voice-referendum-defeated-as-no-wins-clear-majority-in-nsw-south-australia-and-tasmania
- “Australians reject Indigenous recognition via Voice to Parliament, referendum set for defeat” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-14/voters-reject-indigeneous-voice-to-parliament-referendum/102974522
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.
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