Nine reporter Brooke Boney reveals impact of No vote

Indigenous Today star Brooke Boney has revealed her stance on the proposed voice to parliament, and delivered a message to those thinking of voting No.

Indigenous presenter Brooke Boney has issued a powerful message to Aussies thinking about voting No in the proposed voice to parliament.

The Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman speculated how a negative result would have a “damaging” impact on Aboriginal Australians in an essay for Nine.

“I’ve often reflected on how joyous it would have felt in 1967 after the successful vote for my grandparents to be able to walk down the street and know that their fellow Australians supported them by such an overwhelming majority,” she wrote.

“If the opposite were to occur and we had to walk down the street the next day, we don’t have the luxury of seeing people’s thoughts that might be ‘No, but … I’d like to see this happen or that happen’. All we would see is No and that would be quite damaging.”

Brooke Boney said a No vote would be ‘quite damaging’ to Aboriginal Australians. Picture: Nine

The Today reporter conceded it couldn’t be ruled out that a voice to parliament may end up added to the list of initiatives that had promise but ultimately no meaningful influence.

“My fear is that nothing will change, and we’ll wake up the day after and Aboriginal policy will be pulled together in the same way it always has been and will continue to be expensive and not as effective as it could be,” she said.

While mindful not to sway too heavily towards either vote, she encouraged those considering voting No in the referendum later this year to have an alternative plan.

“It’s OK if people want to vote No but I’d hope those people have a plan for what to do to improve the situation if the referendum fails and not just be content to maintain the status quo,” Boney said.

Some Aboriginal people had already indicated their intention to vote No in an act of resistance against a “system that has oppressed Aboriginal people for a couple of hundred years”, she explained.

They were rightly hesitant, she said, given the same system had historically “so often failed us”.

“They have every right to feel let down and ignored because too often and for too long that has been the case,” she wrote.

“I think it’s fair to say that it is a complicated issue and while there is a binary vote – Yes or No – there are more perspectives than just that.”

It was for that reason she had opted out of answering when people asked how they should vote.

“I don’t know what you should do. You should find out as much information as you can – there is a lot out there – have a look at how we’ve done things in the past and then decide whether you think we can do better,” she wrote.

Brooke Boney. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The referendum, which would enshrine the advisory body in the constitution, is set to be put to the people between October and December.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stressed last month the referendum was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a positive change” that would outlast Australians.

“It will not take away anything from our 122-year-old democracy. Instead, as the Solicitor-General has clearly stated, it will enhance our democracy,” he said.

“It is a small investment with such a great return. None of us has anything to lose. But we have something wonderful and so very real to gain. And with a Yes vote, it will lift us all.”

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney on Wednesday said “history is calling us” to do something about the discrimination impacting Indigenous Australians.

“I hope more than anything that the answer is yes – yes to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, yes to a Voice in parliament and yes to a better future,” Ms Burney said.

Originally published as Nine reporter Brooke Boney reveals impact of No vote