Page 12 - Islands Business October 2023 edition

Referendum

and the colonial labour trade; the White Australia policy smaller language and cultural groups.
and post-Federation deportation of Kanakas; the Stolen Many major corporations, including Qantas, Rio Tinto and
Generations; the systemic violence of unprecedented rates BHP, have called for a Yes vote, although other mining and
of incarceration and deaths in custody; the vast gulf between pastoral companies are bankrolling opposition to the Voice.
health, education and welfare levels for indigenous and non- Australia’s richest woman, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has
indigenous Australians; the list goes on and on. long funded organisations opposed to Aboriginal recognition.
To counter this, the Uluru Statement celebrates a proud The No campaign is also supported by organisations like “Fair
history of resistance and survival. It has inspired a growing Australia” and “Advance”, with extensive disinformation
awareness—especially amongst many younger Australians—of initiatives on social media, funded in part by evangelical
the more than 60,000 years of history and cultural heritage Christian groups and the US-based “International Value
across the continent. Advisors.”

Debate and division Reverberations across the Pacific
The campaign for a Voice, however, is in trouble. Early At a time Australia is seeking to extend its engagement with
support for the Yes campaign has fallen away during this year. neighbouring Pacific Island states, the prospect that Aboriginal
A month out from the 14 October vote, all public opinion polls claims will be spurned, yet again, is worrying political leaders
show a majority of voters will reject the proposed structure. from both major parties.
Widespread public uncertainty about the long-term Campaigning in Western Australia last month, former
implications of the advisory body has benefited the No foreign minister, Julie Bishop said Australia’s international
campaign, which has actively promoted disinformation about reputation will be hurt by a No vote: “I have no doubt that it
the legal and political effects of constitutional change. It will be sending a very negative message about the openness
is also notoriously hard to amend Australia’s Constitution, and the empathy and the respect and responsibility that
requiring a national majority of all Australian voters to vote the Australian people have for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Yes, but also a majority in four of the six states. Islanders.”
On current polling, the traditional frontier states of Current Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong has also
Queensland and Western Australia, with large indigenous echoed this concern, pledging to deliver on the Albanese
populations and major mining and pastoral interests, are government’s commitment “to implement the Uluru
voting No. The larger states, Victoria and New South Wales Statement from the Heart in full, and embed Indigenous
have a significant proportion of Yes voters, while South perspectives, experiences and interests into our foreign
Australia and Tasmania remain crucial battlegrounds. With policy.”
just weeks to go, Yes campaigners are desperately reaching As the first Foreign Minister of Asian heritage, Senator
out to undecided voters, fearing a historic defeat. Wong has sought to reframe Australia’s regional reputation
From the beginning, the referendum process has been and challenge international perceptions of deeply embedded
fraught with resistance from conservative interests. racism. In September 2022, she told the UN General Assembly
The National Party, representing agribusiness and many that “as Foreign Minister, I am determined to see First Nations
rural and regional voters, called for a No vote even before perspectives at the heart of Australian foreign policy.”
Parliament had formally debated the issue. Under opposition Last March, Wong appointed Justin Mahomed, a Gooreng
leader Peter Dutton, the Liberal Party has also called for a Gooreng man from Bundaberg, as the first Ambassador for
No vote (Dutton infamously walked out of Parliament for the First Nations People. Mahomed now heads the Office of First
2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations, and has been widely Nations Engagement within the Department of Foreign Affairs
criticised for fear mongering and disinformation during the and Trade, with the challenge of “embedding First Nations
latest Voice debate). perspectives into Australia’s foreign policy”, “enhancing
A minority of individual Liberals are calling for a Yes Australia’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific Region” and
vote, including the first indigenous Minister for Indigenous “progressing First Nations’ rights and interests globally.”
Australians, Ken Wyatt. However, Country Liberal Party He faces a challenging task, given that Australian foreign
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Walpiri woman from policy often prioritises global geopolitical interests over
the Northern Territory, is the lead spokesperson for the No regional concerns about decolonisation and the right to self-
campaign. Amplified by the Murdoch press and right-wing determination for indigenous peoples.
think tanks, Price has been the public face of indigenous Three weeks after the Voice referendum, Prime Minister
opposition, calling the Voice “divisive and dangerous”, and Albanese will travel to Rarotonga for the Pacific Islands Forum
saying it will divert resources away from practical support to leaders’ retreat. Facing contentious debates aplenty—over
local communities. AUKUS, COP31, and Australian support for Japan’s Fukushima
Based on polling, the overwhelming majority of indigenous ocean dumping—a No vote on indigenous rights will not help
voters still support the Voice. However, a significant minority Australia’s claim to be part of the Pacific “family.”
of grassroots elders and communities are calling for a No vote,
concerned that the initiative may undercut efforts to progress nicmaclellan@optusnet.com.au
Treaty and truth telling, or deny effective representation to

12 Islands Business, October 2023