VoteYES!

I got a No card out of my letterbox this morning. 
At first it just made me mad - I am voting YES. 
But I need to talk about what No has said on that card. 

They claim that "The Voice will divide Australians". It won't. They will divide Australians. The First Nation people belong in this country. It was their own country for tens of centuries. How do they think the Voice will divide this country? They claim that Aus isn't a racist country, but they keep making it that same way. Read the history!! The present Aus was "made" 250 years ago when the Brits arrived to make it into a jail for their own people. They killed too many Indigenous people, thinking they were making the country British. Why?? Why were Indigenous people not included in the constitution when it was set up?

They claim that it isn't fair to "change the national rulebook". What rulebook?? This country became a British area. What is now in the "rulebook"? British rules? Are Indigenous people included? They should be. They say that the Voice "will have special access to Ministers and the Public Service". Why shouldn't they? Why were Indigenous people excluded from voting until 1962? Why were they never accepted in the World War I and II wars, even though there were soldiers who were Indigenous? In May 1964 the Labor opposition leader, Arthur Calwell, set out a bill which would include the Indigenous people in the constitution, but the government didn't accept that. The Indigenous people were not even included in the federal full equality election lists until 1984!

They claim that compensation will cost Australia too much, yet they use capitalism to speak of that. They refer to "reparations and compensation for 'historical wrongs'". Why are they trying to deny that to Indigenous people? A&TSI people have been abused far, far too much. 

• Their culture has been ignored and still is. Writers Taylor and Habibis said "White ignorance has a critical impact on race relations and is implicated in the maintenance of Aboriginal disadvantage. Addressing this ignorance is a largely overlooked capacity‐building opportunity within Australia's non‐Aboriginal population. It warrants consideration as a key component of strategies targeting Aboriginal disadvantage." 
• There are too many Indigenous people who commit suicide when their culture is ignored. Creative Spirits wrote "Almost non-existent in the 1980s, the rate of suicide and self harm amongst Aboriginal people is at crisis levels and has reached "horrific proportions", particularly in remote communities and especially amongst youth." 
• Their children were taken from their own parents! This must be considered today. YES can definitely help that!  

Looking into the history of the British into Māori has met much, much more than the white Australians. In New Zealand (Aotearoa), the Brits signed a treaty with Māori, and the meaning of the Treaty is specified in the NZ law. If the A&TSI had a treaty with the Brits, perhaps they would live much better than they are now. Just saying that.

They say that the Australia Day will be abolished, but this has been fought on for decades. Why are they saying that now? ABC posted an article about this in 2021. According to them, the "Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations." The No vote people should realise that the activists for the change of the Australian Day might think different than the upcoming voters for the YES referendum, but many of them do support the YES vote! Why include them in your arguments? 

I am still rather angry at finding this piece of crap in my mailbox, but I suspect I have read much more history which should be considered when you think of voting No. 

#VoteYES

Aussie non-entities

Australia Day. We’ve all seen the slogans – “Love it or leave”, “Fit in or f**k off”, “”P*ss off. We’re full”. We love it. We want to fit in. So why do the authorities make it so hard for us to become Aussies?

We arrived in SEQ from NZ 2005. Wouldn’t go back, no comparison. We consider ourselves “permanent residents”, but according to the Immigration Service we are simply NZers with SCV status – Special Category Visa. If we had been here prior to 2001 we would be able to be considered permanent residents, but no, we have to apply.

If we were refugees from, say, Somalia, we would have an easy road to citizenship.

If we were boat people from, say, Indonesia, we would have an easy road to citizenship.

If we were business people with capital from, say, China, we would have an easy road to citizenship.

But we’re simple ol’ Kiwis, willing to work, willing to accept the country as our home, but here only out of the goodness of the Aussie Immigration Service’s heart as SCV holders with restricted permanent resident entitlements. We can’t access education loans, we can’t go onto Defence sites, we can’t get some Social Security benefits.

Check it out. The Immigration website says: A “New Zealand citizen is required to first apply for and be granted a permanent residence visa before being eligible to apply for grant of Australian citizenship” if they were not “in Australia on 26 February 2001 as SCV holders”. (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/travel-documents/new-zealand.htm#f)

There are 8 categories of citizenship. As over 50s without sponsors, and without skills that “cannot be filled from the Australian labour market”, hubby and I don’t seem to stand a chance. Never mind the fact that we have been constantly employed since moving here, pay taxes, contribute to the economy, have never asked for a cent from Centrelink or any other welfare organisation.

Each Australia Day I watch the TV interviews with new citizens who can hardly even speak English but who have become citizens by virtue of their status, and my resentment is growing. I’ve been through the Citizenship Wizard, the Visa Wizard, read Fact Sheet 17 – New Zealanders in Australia, read the Immigration form 1126i, and been round and round the website looking for information. Seems if I want to know more, I have to ring them.

I think I shall be on the phone tomorrow.