An Indigenous elder tells her community to vote No on the Indigenous Voice in Parliament because she “doesn’t trust the government in any way.”
Kurnai elder Auntie Cheryl Drayton, who lives in the Gippsland region of south-east Victoria, said there was not enough detail on how the proposed body would help Indigenous people.
“While there’s no idea how this is going to work, I don’t see how any sane person with a brain could vote for it,” longtime Indigenous student support worker Aunty Cheryl told me. The age.
“It doesn’t tell them how people will be elected (over to the Voice).
“The government has put a lot of money into this and it could have been spent on developing the aspirations of communities.”
Aunt Cheryl, 71, set out her views in more detail during a conversation with Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, who represents the seat of Monash, in July.
Kurnai elder aunty Cheryl Drayton (pictured right) says the Voice will not make any practical difference to indigenous people
“The important thing about The Voice is that we haven’t given those people permission to act on our behalf,” she told Broadbent.
“The reality of that is that there is an elite of people who think it’s good to have us in the Constitution, and they haven’t been around to explain how that’s going to make any difference to the grassroots people.
‘The Voice won’t make any difference. There will be no cooperation through the grassroots people; it will be a top-down measure that will come down.
“It will dismantle a lot of the goodwill that has been built up at the grassroots level.”
She said many Aboriginal people were not registered to vote and would therefore even be excluded from the referendum.
About 40,000 Indigenous Australians are expected to miss the referendum.
Auntie Cheryl said a better approach would be to look at how the funds are being used for Indigenous outcomes and focus them on doing things at the grassroots level.
“We need to look at the amount of money spent on all Aboriginal areas because there are no results,” she said.
“The data continues to tell us that we have higher incarceration rates, we have poor health outcomes, our children are not learning literacy or numeracy skills, and things are not improving.”
Mr Broadbent said Aunt Cheryl’s views had changed his mind about the Voice, which he previously said he strongly supported.
He had told some of his colleagues in Canberra that the most senior elder in his region was against it, but said some of them were not so interested.
The Albanian government and other Voice proponents often cite a YouGov survey showing that 83 percent of indigenous people support the Voice
Aunty Cheryl’s comments echo those from the other side of the continent, where elderly people in far north Queensland raised concerns about the Voice last month.
Dr. Fiona Wirrer-George, a traditional owner in Napranum, south of Weipa, believes the Voice narrative needs to be restructured to appeal to remote communities.
“A different kind of story is occupying the mind of the Western Cape mafia,” she told Cairns Post.
“I don’t think it (the Voice) is at the forefront. That’s how it should be.’
Many other community leaders in Cape York remain unconvinced of the Voice.
‘Why should I care? The Voice is not going to make any difference,” one prominent community leader asked.
Locals shared similar sentiments when opposing the Voice.
“People are just kind of turned off,” said a children’s services worker.
Another added, “Most of my clients are more concerned about day-to-day survival.”
Others are skeptical that the Voice will achieve its goal of closing the gap between Indigenous people living in regional, rural and remote areas and white Australians.
Mr Pearson insists that the imperatives of closing the divide will be addressed by the Voice.
Federal Monash Liberal MP Russell Broadbent says Auny Cheryl’s views on the Voice have changed her mind
“This is the message of the Voice: By having a voice, we will be responsible for closing the gap,” he said.
‘This is a crucial insight for those involved in Aboriginal policy at the highest levels and at the grassroots in claiming the right to self-determination. We claim the right to take responsibility.’
The Albanian government and other Voice proponents often cite a YouGov poll showing that 83 percent of indigenous people support the body.
A referendum on October 14 will decide whether the Voice will receive constitutional recognition of Australia’s original inhabitants.