Historic Indigenous voice referendum bill passes parliament ahead of public vote
www.theguardian.com
Opposition attorney general Michaelia Cash made last-minute speech slamming proposed Indigenous consultation body

A bill to alter the constitution and enable the Indigenous voice has passed the federal parliament ahead of Australia’s first referendum in 24 years to be held later in 2023.

The Senate passed the bill on Monday 52 votes to 19, confirming the wording of the constitutional change to be put to the Australian people. The draft legislation passed the lower house last month.

  • Bill Stickers@aussie.zone
    42·
    2 years ago

    What a strange assumption to make. Why would Indigenous Australians be any different in this regard? This sounds like some flawed “white knows best” thinking.

    These are contemporary modern issues too. Plenty of the rest of Australia have backwards beliefs on these issues. Our society has only made progress on these issues in the last decades. Other contemporary societies haven’t made any progress on these issues. (See the Middle East or Africa.)

    I would like to take a moment to acknowledge this argument does lear close to white-supremacists white-society arguments. I don’t think race has anything to do with it. I think economics do. Prosperous societies become more liberal. Western society has just been the most prosperous society in the last few hundred years. Previous nonwestern societies have had periods of liberalism during prosperous times (see the Middle East). I think this is also an argument that giving sovereignty to non-prosperous regional communities is a bad idea.

    Men and Women’s business is a thing in aboriginal lore. With “harsh punishment” if the rules are broken.

    The elders of 70 aboriginal communities delivered a petition against gay marriage to the government.

    Corporal (and capital) punishment was used in aboriginal lore.

    Your “white knows best” comment reeks of moral relativism. And while I’m not a moral realist you’d be pushing shit uphill to win an argument against individual rights.

      • Bill Stickers@aussie.zone
        3·
        2 years ago

        No I didn’t ? I specifically called out that this exists in modern Australian society? I provided examples of indigenous issues so you couldn’t accuse me of making this out of whole cloth.

        I don’t think every aboriginal community will have these issues. I think it’s a bad idea to have multiple (hundreds of) smaller governments where these issues could pop up. Every Australian deserves the same and the best rights we can give them. Our job isn’t done in that regard and it would be a backward step to allow small communities to “decide for themselves” in these regards.

          • Bill Stickers@aussie.zone
            3·
            2 years ago

            Dear god your reading comprehension is terrible.

            Who is “we”?

            Society, everyone, progressives, anyone who agrees everyone was created equal and deserves equal respect, anyone who agrees the system is still fucked and we can and should change it for the better.

            What do you mean by “our job”?

            Improving the system to improve the rights, respect and outcomes for everyone.

            We only just legalised gay marriage and homosexuality was still illegal in some places in Australia under 25 years ago. There is still plenty of discrimination going on in this place that needs sorting out.

            Stop trying to play the white saviour card. It’s bullshit. I fully acknowledge the British invaders where shit to the First Nations and committed genocide. It’s been a shit time for the original inhabitants for the first two hundred plus years of colonisation. No white saviour going on there. But now we have an option to decide what we can do to make the world a better place and it’s not to set up hundreds of semi-sovereign enclaves that will turn out shit for the marginalised individuals in them.