Referendum

Ordinarily, I am politically neutral. But today, being the day we vote in a national referendum about whether indigenous peoples should have their right to be heard enshrined in the constitution, I feel I must break that neutrality.

I am going to ask you to vote NO, because by preferentially specifying one particular people group in our constitution, we, as a nation, are saying that one group has more value than another.

I’m going to ask you to vote NO, because making it part of the constitution means the ruling document that is meant to ensure equality for every Australian will no longer do so. Why should one voice be more important than any other?

I’m going to ask you to vote NO, because if we permit this change to happen, we are opening a door for any other group – including vocal minority groups like the LGBTQ+ and racist groups – to demand the same rights.

Most importantly, I’m going to ask you to vote NO, because the minute we open that door, we are creating a divide. If we permit this divide in the ruling document of our nation, we are inviting our own destruction.

This is the ruling document of our nation, and it is meant to be apolitical. It is not meant to see colour, race, sexual preference or gender. It is not meant to favour one group of people over another, because we are all Australians. Shouldn’t that be enough?