PAST FAILURES AND BROKEN TRUST LEAD TO SKEPTICISM ON THE VOICE
BY ELIZA KLOSER
GetUp CEO Larrisa Baldwin-Roberts. Credit: Supplied.
Campaign group GetUp says the realities of the past need to be acknowledged in conversations around the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum to be held later this year.
GetUp CEO and Widjabul Wai-bul woman Larissa Baldwin-Roberts said it was important to be patient in discussing the Voice, as there is broken trust in government amongst Indigenous Australians.
“Our communities have such little faith in government and are so frustrated, and that’s based on decades of broken promises and harmful policies, so there is not a lot of trust,“ she said.
“A critical thing that came through from our mob, they don’t have a lot of faith in government.
“They are very skeptical of government top-down policies and how much they will work.”
In 2021, the Productivity Commission’s ‘Closing the Gap’ report revealed government’s commitment to increase life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was not on track.
The report also revealed increased rates of incarceration and suicide amongst Indigenous Australians.
Ms Baldwin-Roberts said that in conversations with her mob she’d observed the debate create fear.
“I talked to a bunch of people who really feel like, ‘is there something being done to us?’” she said.
Ms Baldwin-Roberts said some First Nations people may be reluctant to express a view on the topic of the Voice.
“There’s a lot of people just not wanting to be divisive within a community,” she said.
She advised Aboriginal people to contact the Prime Minister directly with their questions and concerns.
“Come together and have meetings in your community and work out what your questions are collectively,” she advised.
“I think people should put these questions straight to the Prime Minister.”
Ms Baldwin-Roberts also advised Australians to take care in conversations around the Voice as “debating people’s humanity” can take a toll on mental health.
“We’ve been having conversations with people and they are really worried about not just young people being in this debate but also what could happen in terms of the community's mental health,“ she said.
“We know that during the survey for marriage equality, the LGBTQI community suffered a lot of mental health issues in that debate.”
Ms Baldwin-Roberts said the Voice isn’t a perfect solution to issues impacting Indigenous Australians, but is a step in the right direction and will allow communities to be represented to government.
“This thing isn’t the be-all and end-all, but it is one step on the way to getting the support publicly, to win all those other things,” she said.
“First Nations people really made it clear that they want self-determination and non-Indigenous people want some sense of national pride and unity, something that brings us together,” she said.
“Our mob really have hope that in a referendum, if millions of people vote ‘yes’, then that would create a huge amount of political solidarity for First Nations people.”