Multicultural and Indigenous communities lack access to information about the voice to parliament

Multicultural and Indigenous communities with non-English speaking residents have insufficient information about the voice to parliament, which could have a significant impact on the way they vote.

ICTV journalist Damien Williams visited an Indigenous community and asked resident Kevin Malthouse his understanding of the voice to parliament. Source: ICTV

Non-English speaking residents in multicultural and Indigenous communities aren’t being provided with sufficient information from the media and political leaders about the voice to parliament which could impact their vote, experts say.

The nation’s multicultural broadcaster, SBS, is delivering ongoing coverage of the voice to parliament in dozens of different languages to viewers and listeners, but Professor Fethi Mansouri, director at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, said a serious gap remained in providing appropriate information to non-English speaking communities.

“It’s crucial that every single Australian and permanent resident has access to information in a manner that they can comprehend and understand to base their decision on,” he told The Australian.

“Language and the availability of certain information is critical and while the SBS does usually take a lead role, mainstream media has a big role to play.

“Political leadership does too, in terms of how they communicate their positions, including for the Yes and the No vote. If people don’t understand the mechanics and the implications, the likely result is many people won’t bother to engage.”

Free-to-air Alice Springs-based digital television station ICTV (Indigenous Community Television) regularly features video content called the “Bush Mob’s Voice” on its digital channels.

ICTV journalists have been visiting Indigenous communities in recent months to ask residents – in their own languages – whether or not they know about, or understand, the proposed voice to parliament.

In its most recent episode, journalist Damien Williams spoke to members in the Aboriginal community of Hermannsburg, also known as Ntaria, 125km west of Alice Springs.

Resident Angela Epatarinja told Williams she did not know about the proposed voice to parliament and also said there were problems with information – particularly during election campaigns – only being provided in English.

“When they go Ntaria (during elections) they only do it in English,” she said during the interview, which was translated via English subtitles.

“They just hand you a piece of paper and say ‘vote for this person’.”

Of the four Indigenous community members interviewed in the latest episode, three either hadn’t heard of the voice or didn’t understand it.

The SBS charter states that the broadcaster’s main function is to provide multilingual and multicultural broadcasting and digital media services to all Australians.

A spokeswoman said the broadcaster was ensuring it provided a range of information to diverse communities ahead of the upcoming referendum.

“SBS is providing ongoing coverage and information on the voice to parliament in more than 60 languages through SBS Audio, as well (as) our TV news in Mandarin and Arabic, in addition to news and current affairs in English through SBS and NITV (National Indigenous Television),” the spokeswoman said.

“In line with our code of practice, we will continue to explore different perspectives and positions, and ensure the diversity of views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community are shared and are accessible to all Australians in their preferred language, along with information about the referendum process to support all Australians to participate.”

SBS previously translated the Uluru Statement from the Heart into more than 60 languages to ensure that it was accessible.