By Matthew Sims
A local professor has hit out at the discourse surrounding the Voice, calling the conversation “very disappointing”, asking voters not to base their decision on lies or scare campaigns.
As South East residents prepare to vote in the upcoming referendum on altering the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice – with pre-polling centres to open in Pakenham and surrounds from Monday 2 October – Federation University’s Berwick campus hosted a conversation on the vote.
The conversation, between Federation University Australia Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor Reconciliation Professor Andrew Gunstone and Yorta Yorta man and First Nations Foundations chairperson Ian Hamm, saw about 15 community members attend on Friday 22 September.
Speaking to Star News before the event, Professor Gunstone said the conversation around the vote so far had been upsetting to see.
“It’s about recognition and it’s about listening,” he said.
“There’s a lot of confusion.
“I think it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
Despite the negativity surrounding the vote, Professor Gunstone said it was positive to see engagement in Aboriginal affairs, with recent ‘Yes’ rallies in Melbourne and across the country among examples of positive engagement.
“What I want to see for this country is more non-Indigenous people engaging with Indigenous issues,” he said.
The work of reconciliation will continue past the referendum, he said.
“(People) shouldn’t base their decision on a lie or on a fear campaign.”
Professor Gunstone said it would be a hard truth for Aboriginal people to face if the vote was lost.
“My heart will break for them,” he said.
Speaking before the event to Star News, Federation University Engineering lecturer and community advocate Harpreet Singh Kandra said he has also been busy teaching culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities across the South East about the impact of the vote.
“Nine out of 10 people have no idea about the Voice,” he said.
“This is an issue they have not connected with.
“They can certainly relate to it.”
Mr Hamm said the decision the Australian population would face on 14 October was a simple one.
“This is not about the Constitution,” he said.
“It is not about detail.
“What this is about, at its core, is who we are as a nation.
“By and large, all we want is a fair go in our country.”
Mr Hamm said the Voice was simply a mechanism to allow Aboriginal people to speak.
“We don’t get to talk about what we contribute to this nation,” he said.
“We don’t get to talk about our hopes, dreams and aspirations.”
For more information about the upcoming referendum, visit aec.gov.au/referendums
