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| Down Under | |
| It was Conan the Barbarian as Australians fought off overwhelming propaganda to vote "No" to the 'racist referendum' in a landslide | |
| 2023-10-15 | |
| [LettersFromAustrailia] Voting day was like the Battle of the Mounds, or David beating Goliath - only better Deep in Sydney’s posh enclave of Double Bay the battle of Sherbrooke Hall raged. On Saturday, one stood against many. Bridget alone stood for the No case against a sea of at least 8 Yes-men. “We are one and free,” she said, holding out pamphlets, ignored by voters, out-flanked on all sides by the patronising and the privileged. For hours in the hot sun she fought on. The Sherbrooke Hall vote came down to Yes: 275 and No: 255 with 8 informal. “No” missed by just 20 votes. But like the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, the battle was lost but the greater war was won. The results are a landslide victory for ordinary working Australians including many Aboriginal people such as Jacinta Nampiginpa Price and Nyunggai Warren Mundine who said ‘No’. It is genuinely amazing that the ‘No’ vote even won, because the Government together with large corporations spent millions promoting the ‘Yes’ campaign. Even some councils such as City of Sydney spent money on advertising ‘Yes’. The referendum itself cost the country about $450 million, according to estimates from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) reported by the ABC. ‘Yes’ signs were everywhere, with professional printing and advertising. ‘No’ signs were few and often hand-painted. The government and corporate class used Aboriginal people like wrapping paper to disguise the new organ of the state they wanted to create. The Voice would not have given a greater say to Aboriginal people, it would have replaced their actual voices with a new government body populated by bureaucrats whose views the government likes. Why couldn’t people see the actual words of the proposed change on the ballot when they voted? Elitist enclaves voted ‘Yes’ such as the NSW seat of Wentworth. Double Bay is the electorate of wealthy Teal Allegra Spender, who attended Ascham, a private girls’ school that charges more than $42,000 per year in fees. Warringah, north of the harbour also voted ‘Yes’ - it is the seat of Zali Steggall, another Teal. The Teals represent the billionaire class, backed by Simon Holmes à Court, son of Australia’s first billionaire, Robert. One Warringah ‘No’ voter told Letters From Australia that the referendum was “an attack on the citizens by the government”. “It was an attack on the middle class, on the workers. We were at work - that’s why we weren’t at meetings. That’s why only old people were there. That’s why they called us ‘dinosaurs’,” he said. The man was referring to journalist Ray Martin who said ‘No’ voters were “dinosaurs and dickheads” at a speech in Marrickville, Sydney, earlier in October, Radio 2GB reported. LET’S ACTUALLY HELP REMOTE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE INSTEAD Perhaps now Australia can get on with actually helping Aboriginal people in ways that matter. Sometimes that doesn’t involve money but a change in thinking. One way would be introducing more 99-year-leases on remote Aboriginal communities to allow individual people to have the security of tenure that comes from private property ownership. I spent a decade in Darwin and visited six remote communities in the time I was there. I saw the unintended consequences of separate laws for Aboriginal people. Some of the worst problems come from special rules designed to “help”. Here is just one example. Remote Aboriginal people can’t own anything. There’s no security of tenure to use for a loan or insurance, to start a bakery or eco-tourism business or buy a home.
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| Posted by:anon1 |
| #7 "Here, have a blanket" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-10-15 19:39 |
| #6 The Bureau of Indian Affairs *spit* has been a bureaucratic nightmare in the USA ever since its creation. |
| Posted by: magpie 2023-10-15 19:10 |
| #4 Congratulations on this important win for all Australians, anon1. Thank you for letting us know the rest of the story. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-10-15 12:45 |
| #3 Artificial Blood: The History and Current Perspectives of Blood Substitutes Artificial Blood Product One Step Closer to Reality With $46 Million in Federal Funding |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-10-15 11:22 |
| #2 How the army is planning for war with China by stocking up on blood supplies - by experimenting with how to store it and transport it across the Pacific |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-10-15 11:19 |
| #1 Hello TW, Fred, rantburgers. Of course, ABC is framing this as a loss for Aboriginal people even though plenty of indigenous people are celebrating the 'No' victory. This was never going to help Aborigines, it was only ever going to replace their authentic voices with an elitist mouthpiece Good on themm for saying No! |
| Posted by: anon1 2023-10-15 06:30 |