Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Recent articles
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Christine Grayden
    • Dick Wettenhall
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Gayle Marien
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Harry Freeman
    • Ian Burns
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Julie Paterson
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley >
      • Coastal Connections
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Neil Daly
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Richard Kemp
    • Sally McNiece
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
  • Features
    • Features 2024
    • Features 2023
    • Features 2022
    • Features 2021
    • Features 2020
    • Features 2019
    • Features 2018
    • Features 2017
    • Features 2016
    • Features 2015
    • Features 2014
    • Features 2013
    • Features 2012
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Nature notes
    • Nature notes
  • A cook's journal
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
    • Stories
  • Contact us

Linda Cuttriss

15/9/2023

0 Comments

 
I will be voting YES for The Voice. I lived and worked in the Northern Territory for 10 years and saw many impractical and wasteful programs rolled out by ‘Planet Canberra’ whereas the successful programs were invariably designed and developed BY community Elders - in partnership with the whitefella organisation/agency. Kim Mahood’s essays in her (2022) ‘Wandering with Intent’ give some enlightening accounts of this.
Designing a Voice that captures the diverse voices of the many remote, regional and urban communities will not be simple. I can understand that some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people don’t trust in this so-called Voice or perhaps want more. But for non-Indigneous people, I firmly believe voting YES is the right thing to do. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was a long consultative process by First Nations Peoples and they have asked for a Voice.

It is important for all of us - whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous - that after more than 200 years, we finally say to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, “YES, we want you to be truly and properly recognised as the First Peoples of this Country and to have a say in the policies and programs that affect you”. I feel a looming dread of how numb and shamed I will feel if the answer is “NO”. I feel utterly gutted just to think of it.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Your voice

    We want to hear your views.
    * Have you discussed the Voice with friends/family/workmates? * Have you changed your mind?
    * Have you tried to persuade anyone?
    * Has anyone tried to persuade you?
    * Has anyone inspired you?
    * What do you think of the process?
    * What should happen if the Voice doesn't get up in the referendum?

    Maximum 200 words. Artworks, cartoons, songs and videos are also welcome.
    ​
    Please include a headshot. 
     
    Email submissions to [email protected].