2023-10-14 06:09:00
Australians vote on Saturday to say whether or not they agree to recognize Aboriginal people in the Constitution as the first inhabitants of the island continent and to give them a specific “voice”, in a referendum which has deepened divisions.
In view of the latest polls, however, constitutional reform seems to have little chance of winning: the “no” supporters would win with around 60% of the votes.
The project plans to create an advisory council – nicknamed “The Voice” – to Parliament and the government which will be able to advise on laws and public policies which affect the indigenous, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, which represent 984,000 people, or 3.8% of the Australian population.
Initially largely in the majority, the camp in favor of changing the 1901 Constitution has continued to lose ground in recent months, notably due to the campaign led by the conservative opposition, led by the former Minister of Justice. Defense Peter Dutton.
For the conservative camp, the reform constitutes constitutional tinkering and would create divisions within society, by creating a distinction in citizenship.
The campaign led to an avalanche of racist comments on online media.
False information has also circulated, some of which claims that property titles could be called into question or that reparations would have to be paid if the reform passes.
For supporters of “The Voice”, this reform would help heal the still raw wounds of a past of colonization and racial repression.
Today, more than 200 years after British colonization, indigenous Australians, whose ancestors have lived on the continent for at least 60,000 years, have the same rights as other citizens, but they still suffer from severe inequalities.
“Day of Shame”
Supporter of “yes”, Karen Wyatt, 59, strives to “stay positive” despite a defeat which seems inevitable to her, she tells AFP.
If “The Voice” is rejected, it would be “a day of shame for Australia”, she believes. “I think it says a lot about the trajectory of this country.”
Dee Duchesne, 60, who campaigned for “no”, explains that she wants to “avoid an additional layer of bureaucracy being added to our Constitution”.
She says she was called racist while handing out leaflets near a polling station in Sydney. “I’m not,” she says.
Gary Dreyer, 66, deplores the “conflictual” aspect of the debate. “We are not racist because we voted ‘no’,” he says. “We are just saying that it is not the right way, that it is not the right mechanism to help them.”
While polls have consistently shown that most Australians care little about the problems of indigenous communities, center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday made an emotional appeal to voters to right a historic wrong.
“This week, while the world is in the grip of so much hatred, Australians have the opportunity to show kindness,” declared the man who has mobilized strongly for a year in favor of “yes”. “It’s about respect for indigenous Australians. It’s about how we see ourselves as a nation, but also how the world sees us.”
A “yes” victory would mean, according to him, “the disappearance of a burden for each of us”. “In my lifetime, indigenous Australians have not been taken into account. Today, they are asking to be heard. That is not too much to ask.”
Voting is compulsory for Australia’s 17.5 million voters.
In order to be adopted, the reform must receive not only a majority of votes at the national level, but also in at least four of the country’s six states.
10/14/2023 06:07:22 – Sydney (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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