Dear reader,

another scintillating piece from Frank.  In this- un he talks of voices. Both Ces and Quent, (our sub editors and long-term contributors) suffer from a state of advanced deafness. And as far as political voices are concerned, regrettably, we can only hear dog- whistles. But if you listen hard to this dispatch you may hear something else. Ears to the ground as they say, 

 

Frank continues….

 

 

你好吗？( Nǐ hǎo ma?)

That in a fair and functional democracy, minorities should have a say in matters that affect them, to me is a no-brainer.
Yes, it should be so, but living in Yuendumu, it is painfully obvious to me that as far as the Warlpiri people is concerned this is far from happening.

My musician brother, often would participate in talent shows, both radio and television.
He had the talent but never achieved celebrity status. I remember him ruefully telling me that he had become Australia’s Oldest New Face. Too late for my brother but the talent/reality show TV industry has flourished. Worldwide franchises such as “…….(insert country) has got talent” not to mention that glitz and glamour kitsch extravaganza, Eurovision. The weirder the better.
Then there is The Voice in which some reasonably talented singers are hyped up by a panel of celebrities who go into orgasmic paroxysms and any lengths to excite and convince audiences into believing they have just witnessed the performance of the century, so as to sell more advertising.

But it isn’t television’s The Voice I wish to discuss. The Voice to Parliament that our latest Prime Minister has vowed to hold a referendum on, is The Voice I’m often asked my opinion on.

This referendum is a double-edged sword. I remember when Ntaria’s Warren H. Williams was a candidate in an election; he considered the idea that Australia should have a vote on the notion that Indigenous Australians were here first, to be highly insulting. Should we hold a referendum to determine if the Earth is flat or round?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvbgTQIWw_4
Warren H. Williams, Great Southern Land

Of course, our previous Government missed an opportunity. Our Prime Minister made that giant leap in reconciliation when he unilaterally changed ‘young’ in our national anthem to ‘one’ Equally he could have, when he was Minister for Everything, have made a unilateral decision on The Voice, and saved us the angst of a costly and divisive referendum.

So here are Argentina and Australia’s national anthems at the World Cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euv8ZW82mqk

The rendition of that awesome Argentine National Anthem I grew up with…
Oid mortales, el grito sagrado… Libertad, Libertad, Libertad!
(Hear all ye mortals, the sacred cry… Liberty, Liberty, Liberty!)

left much to be desired.
The Australian National Anthem, on the other hand had an Aboriginal language version tacked on, which to their credit the Australian team had learned. But hey! We have reverted to being young rather than one. Who decided this, and when?

I vividly recall the euphoric crowd returning from the ceremony at which the Warlpiri people were “granted” Native Title on neighbouring Mount Doreen Station. Traditional dancing had much impressed the judge, politicians, media, and well-wishers, and a good time was had by all.

What did it all mean? I asked- “Matthew can no longer lock the gates. We can go there anytime we want to”
Recently Mt. Doreen Station changed hands for $34.7 million plus another similar amount for cattle on the hoof. Pastoral Lease holders retain the right for access control, but Native Title holders have the right to hunt and perform ceremonies. However, should they be tempted to hunt a bullock, they risk incarceration.

Native Title was sold as the culmination of the Land Rights movement. A fait accompli. Empowerment.
It is anything but.

So, what about The Voice to Parliament and the Uluru Statement from the Heart? The danger is that they will be seen as the full stop to the struggle for recognition and reconciliation. The Voice can be used as a weapon of colonialism “We have ‘given’ you this, so what more do you want?” It could derail any effort to negotiate treaties with teeth. Just like our nation has reverted to being young, so too, could The Voice be muzzled, even in its inception.

Which brings us to the current politization of The Voice.
The current opposition has started a campaign of obfuscating the process. They are demanding “more detail”

Honest, I’m not buying into this argument. Suffice it to mention Noel Pearson’s most recent contribution to the English Language: trapped in a “redneck celebrity vortex”

I was going to vote No, I’ve changed my mind, I’m voting Yes.

再见 (Zàijiàn)

Frank

PS-The tres (three) is a Cuban guitar which has three spaced pairs of strings, tuned in a particular way, to give it a unique sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuzz2MZRjlw (the guy on the left)