We need a hat

by liberal japonicus

More bad news, the proposal to recognise Aboriginal people in Australia’s constitution has been rejected.

In the damned if you do, damned if you don't file

The referendum question, to amend Australia’s constitution to recognise the first peoples of Australia by establishing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament, was deliberately vague. The failure of Australia’s previous referendum in 1999 – to become a republic and acknowledge Indigenous ownership – was seen to have failed because it put forward a specific model to voters.

Earlier in life, I got a cram course in Australian history and politics, and while I don't have any Aussies in my circle with whom I can talk about current politics, I've tried to follow what happens. It seemed to me that the requirement of a double majority (nationwide majority AND a majorities in 4 of the 6 states) was an idea that may have seemed great when it was proposed, but when the opponents brought out ambiguities and expanded those with lies, there was no way that it could overcome the people who would have not accepted it regardless.

I don't know if we have a lot of Aussies or Aussie adjacent folks here, but if we do, have at it.

Comments

[CharlesWT]

Here's a discussion on conditions for indigenous people and the voice referendum. Likely more than a few indigenous people voted against it too. Some because they were against it. Others because they thought it didn't go far enough.

"In this interview, John sits down with his good friend Anthony Dillon, an Indigenous academic and commentator. Anthony’s reflections on Indigenous affairs are particularly insightful as, in addition to his academic experience, he can offer the perspective of an Indigenous person who has both succeeded within modern Australia and is the son of Australia’s first Indigenous police officer, Colin Dillon.

Anthony argues that although there are residual negative effects from colonization, the immediate cause of current Indigenous disadvantage is Indigenous children being brought up in bad circumstances. Consequently, the only way to improve outcomes is through improving these conditions, which he argues should take precedence over the insistence on self-determination, which stems from identity politics.

The conversation also covers the upcoming voice referendum, Indigenous deaths in custody, fatherhood, and the need for law and order."
The True Cause of Indigenous Disadvantage

[liberal japonicus]

I usually don't look at YouTube videos, but I did take a listen to this one. It would be good to note that John Anderson served in the government of John Howard, which had a number of racist policies. Howard has never really acknowledged the issues. One example is here
https://au.news.yahoo.com/john-howard-under-fire-over-racism-remarks-000239385.html

So when you have Anderson egging on the guest (i.e. his good friend, Anthony Dillon), one might want to take some salt with that. For instance the summary says
Anthony argues that although there are residual negative effects from colonization, the immediate cause of current Indigenous disadvantage is Indigenous children being brought up in bad circumstances.

Bad circumstances is an interesting circumlocution for this:

The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately 1905 and 1967, although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s.

Official government estimates are that in certain regions between one in ten and one in three Indigenous Australian children were forcibly taken from their families and communities between 1910 and 1970. [emphasis mine]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Generations

You can get an idea of where Dillon is coming from by looking at his editorials in the Daily Telegraph, which is an Aussie newspaper, but seems to have similar tendencies to the UK Telegraph.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/journalists/anthony-dillon