Generosity of spirit

AS we consider whether to vote Yes or No in the referendum on October 14, we do well to ignore the myriad largely irrelevant complications raised by the naysayers and focus, rather, on the fact that a widely consultative process, over many years, led to the framing of the Uluru Statement from the Heart which invites all Australians to give our First Peoples a constitutionally guaranteed voice on matters affecting them. It’s not a Canberra bubble invention. It’s not an elites thing. It’s not the artifice of indigenous academics. It’s simple really. It’s a warm invitation to walk with our First Peoples on a journey seeking true equality at last. It’s looking forward, not dwelling on the past. It is recognition of the fact that policies and programs work better when people have a say in their development and implementation. An upside for our Indigenous fellow citizens. And no downsides for the rest of us. We have come a long way since the good citizens of 1924 celebrated Hume and Hovell’s 1824 exploits by inscribing a commemorative obelisk with: “They blazed the track that we might inherit the land”. It’s time to listen to the disinherited, the vast majority of whom support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Jeremy Madin, Merrijig.