Mourning increased

Dear Echo News,

I was initially pleased to read the article Indigenous leaders call for a week of silence after Voice defeated (Echo News, October 20). Great that Echo News had something about the Voice, the most heartfelt issue of Australia today. Surely empathetic.

All good until the heart stabbing twist at the end, which increases the mourning.

The article begins with a reminder that “Australia has said No to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament”, which was followed by a list of statistics for how constituencies and states had voted, mostly No.

Then we are told that on the Uluru Statement website a week of silence to mourn the referendum defeat was called by Indigenous leaders, who also request others to join them in lowering the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag to half-mast during the week. So far this is good community reporting.

It lets us know how Indigenous leaders and their people are feeling about the loss of their Voice.

But suddenly the final paragraph is a stab in the heart. No advocate Jacinta Price is portrayed as “fighting for better outcomes for the Indigenous population”, which is an odd, subjective opinion to promote, at any time, let alone in an article about the loss of the Voice.

Price is quoted as saying “We need better outcomes for our most marginalised, which is what I’ll certainly be working hard for to ensure that is brought about in the near future”.

This is such a cruel jab on two fronts; the one who stabbed the Voice to death, allegedly represents Indigenous people, which she does not; and allegedly she has the solutions and power to do the job of de-marginalising vulnerable Indigenous people, in place of the Voice, which she cannot do.

Only the Voice could have turned the tide for Indigenous disadvantage, but instead, Price turned the tide of the undecided voters from soft Yes to No.

Price took away the joy, and now she is given a media voice tacked onto an article about Indigenous mourning, as if she is the one who can solve the problems that the Voice was designed to do?

Where is the heart in that?

Can an Indigenous reader in mourning take heart from such an insensitive article about their heartache?

Firstly, unlike the Uluru Statement Indigenous leaders, Price does not represent a majority of traditional Indigenous people; just a small mostly non-Indigenous faction that is pro colonialism and pro assimilation; (Reference her Press Club speech).

Secondly, Price is not the author or expert for ‘de-marginalising’ vulnerable Indigenous people.

It was the Yes campaign inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, signed by 250 Indigenous leaders, that raised the ‘close the gap’ issue as a battle cry, claiming that only when Indigenous people have a Voice to parliament, and that voice is listened to, can the gap between advantage and disadvantage be closed.

This is because the Indigenous people themselves have the relevant knowledge for how to improve the lives of their most own vulnerable Indigenous people.

Senator Price is stealing the battle cry and thunder of the Yes campaign and claiming their heart as her own.

She led the No campaign beside opposition leader Peter Dutton, to defeat the Voice, which was the best option for caring for the marginalised Indigenous.

So, it is a political ruse to claim the high ground on caring for the marginalised when in fact she stabbed the cause in the back to the heart.

With Price claiming she represents the Indigenous people and claiming they would be harmed by the Voice, it was inevitable that the majority of the undecided, swung to a No vote; not because they did not want an Indigenous Voice to parliament but mostly because they now feared the Voice might harm the constitution and harm Indigenous people.

As more and more people realise the truth, they join those who mourn the loss of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

As Indigenous people read of Price stealing their voice, their hearts break even more. Without Price, and with former Indigenous senator Ken Wyatt whose role she replaced in the opposition coalition, a majority of Australians would now be rejoicing.

S Braun

Mundaring

Crusading for the

cockatoos

Dear Echo News,

A big thank you to for the article The Vines bushlands group meets (Echo News, September 22) promoting the establishment of our new group.

We had our launch on September 23 at the Maralla Road site, with 55 people attending,   joined by Dean Arthurell of the Carnaby Crusaders who provided us with the most interesting talk about the plight of the black cockatoos here in WA.

Whilst it was alarming to hear just how vulnerable these species are now, all is not lost and groups such as ours can do more to restore their habitats.

We also heard from Brian Inglis and Anne Harris from Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, who took us on a very interesting walk through the site.

We have completed our first clean-up of the Bordeaux Lane and Maralla Road sites. We’ve got more work to do in the lead up to Christmas.

To get involved contact The Vines Residents and Ratepayers Association.

M Church

The Vines