This year has been a hard one for my people.
The referendum, portrayed by the government as the solution to bringing justice to First Peoples in this country, has instead divided and hurt us.
The government has used that pain for a political campaign that paints them as saviours, the solution to our "unique issues", asking us to forget that it is they themselves that write the laws, build the prisons, and fund the police who target us.
The day the colony was established, it started killing us. This referendum has been a new weapon in the war to divide and conquer and is still literally killing us.
Just last week the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) since the referendum was announced.
This 'simple proposal' is not going to reduce rates of incarceration, deaths in custody, child removals, or suicide.
Instead, it is aggravating the pain we have experienced since the start of colonisation.
Another powerless advisory body that claims to be a great change, but guarantees none, is not a step in the right direction. It is nothing more than a sophisticated attempt to make people feel good about 'progressing First Nations justice', while continuing to do what has been done since colonisation.
The supremacy of the colonial parliament over 'our Voice' is a continuation of the oppression of our people, and the writing of our people into the colonial Constitution is another step in their ongoing attempt to assimilate us.
Platforming 'vile racism'
The referendum conversation has platformed the worst our country has to offer. The vile racism of the official No campaign offering a banner for the alt-right to unite under is the most obvious of the harms caused.
The conversation could have been about asking 'Is the voice enough, or do we want more?’.
Instead, calls for a nuanced debate that centres the voices of grassroots First Nations activists, Elders and leaders, including members of the Blak Sovereign Movement, were silenced.
Many of our people who have dared to question the referendum proposal and demand actual change have been bullied, ignored and silenced.
Self-proclaimed allies across the political spectrum have proven themselves incapable of properly listening or giving up space or respecting our cultural lore that has cared for this place and its people since time immemorial.
It is incredible that First Nations people intending to vote No are the ones being accused of ‘racism’ at polling booths and beyond by these supposed ‘allies’ and supporters of Yes23.
Did they ever stop to consider that this was first proposed by John Howard following the NT Intervention, has been funded by mining companies, actively excluded mob critical of government from the consultation process, will have no ability to deliver justice for First Nations people, yet is being pushed through as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’?
Everything First Nations 'on hold'
While the country has been caught up in a meaningless referendum, nothing has happened to save or improve First Peoples’ lives. The Albanese government itself confirmed that everything ‘First Nations’ is on hold until the referendum is done and dusted.
I have been imploring the government to take urgent action now as our people lose their lives, livelihoods, babies, and sacred sites on a daily basis while everything is ‘on hold’.
I have been negotiating with the government on very tangible actions it could take right now, such as implementing the recommendations of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the 1997 Bringing them Home report on child removals.
The fight isn't done with the referendum
We are in the last days of the campaign and I cannot wait for this to be over. But I also know that no matter the referendum result, it will not be over.
A Yes or No outcome doesn’t change the fact that the real work remains to be done. We all need to pressure the government who has ignored numerous advisory bodies and recommendations for decades.
Instead of spending huge amounts of money going to police, prisons and child protection services that target First Peoples, the government could invest in First Nations community-controlled legal, health and wrap-around services today.
Our services are based on a holistic approach and self-determination. Self-determination means being in control of our own destiny. These services are proven to be cost-effective and improve health outcomes, keep people out of prisons and our children with their families.
The government could take immediate action on improving healthcare and access to medications in prisons, raising the age of criminal responsibility, and aligning us with international standards for First Peoples’ rights by implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Sunday needs to be the first step toward healing
Sunday needs to be the start of a healing process, not just from the referendum but the ongoing impacts of colonisation on our people and our lands.
Truth-telling is inseparable from healing. We cannot heal without telling the truth of this place and laying it all bare. We urgently need Truth-telling and a National Intergenerational Healing Strategy to address intergenerational trauma.
Through this healing we can embark on a new journey; one that will completely transform this country.
Treaty-making with the First Peoples of this country offers us a blank canvas, a chance to reset the stage. The government promised to pursue all three elements of the Statement from the Heart. There is no excuse to delay Truth and Treaty any further.
This is a critical moment in history and it is time to go beyond empty gestures. Together, we can change the system so that all of us can thrive and live in harmony.
It is time to mature as a nation. It is time to act.
Lidia Thorpe is an independent Senator for Victoria, a proud Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, lifelong activist and fighter for human rights, social justice and the environment. Senator Thorpe is representing the Blak Sovereign Movement.
