Bec Mac
I am voting a loud YES in the referendum because I believe it’s time to really listen to the First Nations people of this nation about how we can best support them in tackling the complex issues they face from the direct impacts of colonisation.
I was thinking about how white settlement in Australia has only been for 246 years therefore I have been alive for a 5th of that period which is a huge percentage of this time and unfortunately while I have benefited greatly in my own life by just being born here the situation for many Aboriginal people in this country has remained dire. I see this moment as an opportunity for me to play a direct role in the solution by voting YES not perpetuate the problem through voting No.
With a Yes vote this country can then start working towards a treaty as Australia is one of the few settler-colonial Commonwealth nations not to have a treaty between the state and the First Nations. From here we can really build a nation based on equality, inclusivity, and opportunity for all.