Alex Bainbridge: Socialist Alliance reaffirms ‘critical Yes’ position on Voice to Parliament referendum

Alex Bainbridge discusses Socialist Alliance reaffirms ‘critical Yes’ position on Voice to Parliament referendum

Socialist Alliance recognises the concerns of many militant First Nations activists that the Voice will be another powerless advisory body which may actually block change, and that the referendum partly serves as a distraction to absolve the government of its continued crimes against First Nations peoples. The level of grass-roots struggle that happens now and after the referendum will determine if First Nations people’s quest for justice can overcome either constraint by a bureaucratic Voice or demoralisation by a majority No vote.

Socialist Alliance commits to solidarity with that struggle. It will continue to give voice to First Nations militant activists’ demands for real changes to advance First Nations justice and sovereignty, regardless of their position on the Voice.

Emphasis Mine

Even though a successful YES vote could give a toothless First Nations advisory body, it is critical that this referendum succeed to deny some racists a victory. The other racists will be overjoyed at a successful YES vote because they think the support for First Nations will dissolve away with self-congratulations about 'progress'.

The First Nations have been fighting for thirty (30) years for implementation of recommendations of the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission, and for twenty (20) years for that from from the Bringing Them Home Royal Commission.