Lettersto the editor

WANT TO BE HEARD?

The Voice must include dialogue

THE proposed referendum on recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution is drawing a mixed range of views.

One critical view is the claim that much of the wide range of First Nations will not be heard or represented in the proposed advisory Voice to government.

This reflects the traditional decentralised or ‘bottom up’ structure of Aboriginal society, i.e that the strongest societal grouping is at the base level of kinship-based clan groups and then neighbouring groups extend out to language-based “tribal” groups where consensus decision-making between elders is practised.

It is clear that at a national level for a Voice body to be truly representative of the families of local First Nation groups throughout Australia, there has to be lines of communication and consultation out to the states and smaller regional groups of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Only by such a consultation process can a consensus of issues and needs be compiled and so enable a strong line of advice to be presented to the executive government of the day.

The information put out by the Australian Government (https:// voice.gov.au) gives some confidence that the factors I outline here are being addressed. To summarise:

• The Voice will give independent advice to the Parliament and Government

• The Voice will be accountable and transparent

• The Voice will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures

• The Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of local communities

• The Voice will be representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, gender balanced and include youth

• The Voice will be empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful and culturally informed. The establishment of the Voice will be challenging but potentially very productive in reducing misinformed decision-making by non-Indigenous policymakers through a better understanding of the cultural and social issues experienced by First Nations peoples.

David Thompson, Mooroobool

Climate change is a pack of lies

WE are not being told the truth on climate and most of the future climate models are based on carbon dioxide as the cause of warming without one shred of evidence.

The truth is that there has not been one climate model ever published on future climate prediction that has come true.

It is rarely pointed out that carbon dioxide is one of the main building blocks of all life starting with plant life which feeds animals. The by-product of this process called photosynthesis is oxygen which all animals rely on for their life also. All animals can survive in an atmosphere of 2000 parts per million, so it’s not a poison.