In tomorrow’s referendum to change the constitution to recognise First Nations people and create a voice to Parliament, I am voting Yes.

In the work that I have done over the past 26 years, one of the strongest messages that I have pushed, apart from recovery is long term and complex, is that the community that is affected has to have input into the decisions that are being made about their recovery. This is community development 101. We know that communities recover better when they are active participants.

Among many other reasons, this is why I am voting Yes. I believe the Voice is an opportunity for community led recovery by a community that is deeply traumatised by dispossession, disease, forced family separations, racism, and the loss of connection to Country. There are many who do not believe in this narrative. I say to you. Read Judy Atkinson‘s Trauma Trails. Familiarise yourself with the work of Dr Tracy Westerman AM, MPsych(Clin), PhD. Read anything you can by Bhiamie Williamson. Talk to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, hear their stories. They are not the same as yours or mine.

All things being equal, I’ll live into my mid eighties. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of the same age as me, on average have a less than a decade left in their lives. That gap is too big. We need to close it, we need to do things differently.

I believe symbolism is important. We see that in communities affected by trauma, we gravitate towards familiar symbols and rituals, they provide us with comfort and an opportunity to heal. The Voice would be a symbolic act, and add gravitas to our political system, which would go a long way towards healing. To those that say we should focus on practical measures, I say to you we can chew gum and walk at the same time.

When I lived in Germany in the mid nineties, I convinced a group of friends to drive 150km to see a great band called Yothu Yindi. Driving that far for a gig is not usual in Germany, despite being able to drive 200kmh, so it took some convincing. It was an old theatre in a small town, hot and humid, and packed. The sounds of recorded cicadas, the the yidaki, then the band greeted us. They got us into the mood, and nonchalantly, Dr Yunupingu sauntered onto stage. I remember letting out the loudest roar, which he taken surprise by. Homesick, I never felt more proud to be Australian. It was also one of the best gigs I have been to.

The Uluru Statement of the Heart is a simple and generous 440 word 1 page document. Asking for something simple. To be heard. Not for the purse strings, or vetoes, or allowing the UN to come in and take over, or giving up our backyards. To be heard. True community development.

Our greatest opportunity lies also with what we can learn from 60,000 years of living in one of the more challenging places in the world, in times that, quite frankly are seriously challenging us. I am a geographer, and I understand systems and connection to places. These are fundamental ideas in helping us live the lives we live. Why not draw upon a wisdom that has been honed over millennia? We’re about to review the Tsunami Planning Handbook. I’m looking forward to reaching into traditional knowledge to see what the songlines and stories might have to say. Over the years I have learned and been and continue to be inspired by my many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues, Olga Havnen, Lee Prouse, Ben Clark, Jimmy Kyle, Sam Savage, Bhiamie Williamson, Aunty Julie Perkins, Glen Crump, Jody Broun, Jenny Brown. Thank you.

I have been struck by three young people recently. I often feel guilt at the mess we are leaving young people (because, lets face, we knew, but we couldn’t get it done). One, my daughter, Emily who travelled 14 hours in a day to vote in the referendum. Sure, I’m a proud dad, but when she said to me Ïts the right thing to do”. I listened to Bhiamie Williamson‘s PhD thesis recently, and marvelled at the complexity of the scholarship and thought, like a John Coltrane composition. I thought this represented the future of this The other was listening Amba-Rose Atkinson, a PhD student trying to understand the health of Country and people and link this to climate change, the voice was young but the words and wisdom reached back over millennia. I know the future is in good hands.

Vote Yes, its a simple generous thing to do.

Artwork: the magnificent Rosalyn Sultan

https://youtube.com/watch?v=b4ioTBkpY0s%3Fsi%3DtGWsVPZVELbL1E91