18 August 2023: Missed the show? Listen back here.
Dean Parkin from YES23 Campaign joins Ruth and Phil in the second conversation in the EarthChat VOICE series to help clarify further what it will mean to enshrine an Indigenous Voice into the Australian Constitution.
Soon we will receive a YES and NO pamphlet in our letter box sent out by the Australian Electoral Commission. However, there is concern that neither have been ‘fact checked’ by an independent body, and according to The Constitutional Expert Group, the Australian Law Council, and other constitutional law academics, the YES pamphlet is essentially accurate, but the NO pamphlet has made a series of false claims and appears to be using fear tactics to mislead the voters.
We will begin with what is being asked of us to vote on and what it means. We will report on the fact checkers findings to help gain clarity on the actual truth of what a Voice to Parliament will mean for all Australians, including dispelling any myths.
We take a look at our progress with Closing the Gap, and speak to why a Voice enshrined in the Constitution has a greater chance of making a difference.
More than a decade on from the original report, the 2019 Closing the Gap report shows only two of the seven original targets are on track to be met. Important targets around education, health and employment have expired before they were met, while other targets to halve the gap in life expectancy remain off track.
These shortfalls perpetuate Aboriginal disadvantage and contribute directly and indirectly to the high proportion of Aboriginal children and young people coming into state care and coming into contact with the youth justice system. We must finally break these cycles!
The Yes and No pamphlets are available on the Australian Electoral Commission website now:
Two Fact Checking Sites of the YES and NO pamphlets:
Indigenous voice to parliament: what is it and how would it work? (8.35 mins)
To keep informed you can tune into the Guardian podcasts on the Voice:
For lots of information and how to be kept informed go to yes23.com.au
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