Yes and No Voice to Parliament campaigns for both sides summed up by leading lights

On the day Australians cast their vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum, Indigenous Affairs minister Linda Burney and shadow minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price put forward final arguments for the Yes and No campaigns.

Australia is on its way to the polls to vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum.

If you are still deciding how you will vote Indigenous Affairs minister Linda Burney and shadow Indigenous Affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price provide their final pitches for the Yes and No camps.

LINDA BURNEY - INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS MINISTER

Today, all Australians have the opportunity to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution through a Voice.

We all have the chance to vote Yes for a better future.

Cathy Freeman puts it like this: “Right now, each of us can be part of something that really matters. To stand together and to show our support for Australians who need it the most. To recognise Indigenous people in our constitution for the very first time, to give our kids the very best start in life, an equal start in life. And to open our hearts and change our future.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Australia is the best country in the world – but not every Australian gets the same opportunities. The truth is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face an infant mortality rate that is double that of other Australians.

Indigenous Affairs minister Linda Burney says a yes vote will change Australia for the better. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

An Aboriginal man born in the APY Lands can expect to live to just 48 years of age.

Across the country, Indigenous Australians face a suicide rate that is twice as high as non-Indigenous Australians. This is unacceptable. The status quo is simply not working. We can and we must do better.

The Voice is a simple idea – a non-binding advisory committee that will give advice on issues that affect Indigenous communities.

The Voice would be made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from every state and territory.

It will help ensure that people in remote and regional communities have their issues, and importantly their ideas and aspirations heard in Canberra.

This referendum is a choice between better results that improve lives or more of the same old failures.

More than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders and leaders proposed this form of recognition at Uluru in 2017, because they understood that recognition through a Voice will empower Indigenous people and make a practical difference.

I believe the Voice will be focused on giving advice in practical areas, like health, education, jobs and housing.

The Voice will also help drive better value for money on spending allocated to Indigenous issues – because if we listen to communities about what works, we’ll save money in the long run.

For too long, governments of both persuasions have made policies for Indigenous Australians, not with Indigenous Australians.

Your Yes vote can help change that. Vote Yes for a better future.

JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE - INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS SHADOW MINISTER

In 2017, when I read the Uluru Statement from the Heart, I gave a lot of thought as to what it might mean for the country.

To me it was clear that Voice, treaty, and truth, the three elements that the Prime Minister has committed to in full, meant a divided nation.

Australia cut in two. Us and them. I knew immediately I couldn’t support that.

With a Warlpiri mother and a white Australian father, I consider myself a product of reconciliation in this country.

My proudly “Scozzie” husband, a new Australian, and our four boys are a blended family. This Voice would draw a line down the middle, granting an extra say to some of us and not others, based on nothing more than racial heritage.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price believes saying ‘No’ to The Voice is the right decision for Australia. Picture Pin Rada

That’s not right. That’s not the Australian way. Whether you’ve been an Australian for 60,000 years or 60 seconds, we are all equal in this country and that is how it should stay.

The Voice of division is built on the premise that Indigenous disadvantage is the result of nothing more than racial heritage.

It groups all Indigenous Australians as a single homogenous entity without taking into account the vast differences in tradition, values, beliefs and views held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Warlpiri community members in Alice Springs who are voting ‘No’ to the Voice. Picture Pin Rada

I have said before that the gap is more about place than race. Research has shown that the gap is widest in remote and rural communities.

It’s widest where English is not a first language, where education levels are low, food and clean water are harder to come by, unemployment is higher and medical care flies in once a week.

Most Indigenous Australians do not live this way.

Most Indigenous Australians do have access to education, to a doctor, to fresh food and clean water, secure housing and have been able to successfully join the workforce.

The answer to addressing the disadvantage is not granting all of us the right to an extra say that no one else has. To truly address disadvantage, we need to shift our attention off race and focus on need.

We need to look thoroughly at existing structures, identify what works and what doesn’t, and increase transparency and accountability for those charged with implementing solutions.

We need to be one together, not two divided. That’s why I am voting No to the Voice of division.

Originally published as Yes and No Voice to Parliament campaigns for both sides summed up by leading lights