Enid Hughes
For those of you still sitting on the fence….
A Referendum is a special opportunity for us as individuals to support a positive and permanent change to our current ways of working and the Constitution that serves us well, but is set in the time of colonisation. There are only two decisions required of us in this Referendum.
The first decision is an easy one, because it is fact. The Indigenous Australians were the original inhabitants of Australia. The evidence abounds for all of us who travel near and far outside our busy cities. Within Queensland alone we have significant evidence that our First Nations people were here thousands of years before colonisation. The Quinkan rock art galleries near Laura, unique for their number, quality and variety, are listed by UNESCO as among the top 10 sites in the world. Have you seen them? I’m ashamed to say that I had been a Queenslander for over 50 years before I saw them, or even knew they were there. They take your breath away. Some of the oldest and largest galleries in the world, depicting different aspects of Aboriginal culture for the Kuku Yalanji, Guugo Yimithirr and Kuku Thaypan people over hundreds of generations of life. The world recognises them. So should we.
On a more simple but empowering scale for me is the Jebbribillum Bora Ring at Miami. I remember passing it each day on a family holiday as a child as we scuttered across the old Gold Coast Highway to the beach. We were told it was sacred ground, this park of longish grass and white stone markers in a circle, not understanding then the power of the bora ring for law making and secret men’s ceremony, and how important this one was one for the Kombumerri people. A place where issues were raised, problems solved, laws made and punishments both issued and carried out, and young men initiated with wisdom and life lessons. The fact this Bora Ring still stands today, on prize real estate, is a testament to the endurance of First Nations people and culture: 60,000 years later, they are still here.
This leads us to the second and for some most difficult question. Do we want a permanent voice to our parliament from the oldest living people on our planet, to represent their own needs and share with us their wisdom and learnings? What is holding you back from saying Yes?? The Voice to Parliament cannot itself change any laws or right any wrongs but it will highlight to our country, and the world, that we are ready to listen and work together.
We are each only here for a short time - 60,000 years is impossible to even imagine. We can’t know why good and bad things happen, but they do. As I get older, I realise the finiteness of myself in this infinity and the smallness of myself in this universe and I won’t hesitate to say Yes.