‘We need to move forward, stop living in the past’, says Phillip Goodman

In the small community near Darwin, Phillip Goodman sat down with his extended family on Thursday to watch Anthony Albanese tearfully reveal details of the Indigenous voice referendum.

Phillip Goodman and his extended family watch the voice announcement at their home in 15 Mile Creek Camp. Picture: Liam Mendes

In the small community of 15 Mile Creek Camp, 25km east of Darwin, Phillip Goodman sat down with his extended family on Thursday to watch Anthony Albanese tearfully reveal details of the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.

The TV is usually commandeered by the kids playing Fortnite on Xbox.

But Mr Goodman, a casual driver for the Northern Land Council, had heard something big was happening.

The Prime Minister’s statement was a revelation. Neither Mr Goodman nor any of the dozen extended family members perched around the set had heard of the voice. That’s not uncommon among Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.

But Mr Goodman was excited by what he heard. He believes, after listening to Mr Albanese’s speech, the voice will bring a better future for his family, especially his grandchildren.

“I reckon it’s great to have an Indigenous voice in parliament – Australians have to vote Yes,” Mr Goodman declared.

“Finally, I reckon everything will go exactly where we need because we will be heard. I’m involved with the Northern Land Council myself, I’m a council member, and we go out there, we deal with community issues, and we update the government and finally we will hopefully have a voice in government, and it’s great.”

A few years ago the town was described by former AFL star Richard Tambling – who grew up there – as “a symbol of government failure” because of the plight of residents plagued by poverty and appalling services. Mr Goodman thinks the voice may be the answer.

He has a message for those thinking of voting No. “I reckon you people voting No to this referendum, I reckon you’re wrong,” he said. “We need to move forward, we need to work as equal now, stop living in the past, let’s move forward. This is the future, moving forward; voting Yes is moving forward. Voting no is living in the past.”

Mr Goodman’s wife Lorna works with Catholic Care in the No More campaign targeting alcohol, drugs and domestic violence in Indigenous communities. She thinks the voice will help Indigenous Australians combat issues that she says are destroying families and communities. “We see people drinking alcohol all the time, it is a main factor to many problems,” she said.