To the Beagle Editor
Dear Sir,
You concluded your recent editorial with ‘… under Australian laws we are all the same.’
In principle this is true, but the reality is that it is actually something we strive towards constantly in the way we make our laws.
We all know that it is harder for minorities, those who are educationally disadvantaged or those less wealthy to be treated ‘equally’. All you have to do is ask a disabled person or a member of a religious or ethnic minority if they feel that they are treated equally.
We make laws in our parliaments in order to try to remedy this and level the playing field.
This is why I will be voting yes in the coming referendum. For over 200 years, the indigenous people of this country have not been treated equally resulting in their becoming one of the most disadvantaged groups in the nation.
The Voice is their initiative. The Statement from the Heart invites all of us to vote in the referendum to change our Constitution to recognise First Nations people and provide a structure for them to advise Parliament on issues that affect them.
If we vote this in, there is no obligation on us as a nation to listen but, if we do listen, maybe we will have more understanding and maybe we will make the nation more equal in reality.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples have so much to share with us if we can learn to listen.
For us to listen, they need a Voice.
Peter Phillips
North Narooma https://voice.gov.au/
