What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Government faces uphill battle to achieve Voice mandate in referendum

I find it interesting that politicians believe they are somehow anointed to tell people what they should think, do and speak. I suppose I could be generalising because politics and politicians cover such large, diverse areas of society. Perhaps, it is more the case that our political leaders often think they know what’s best for us, even when there is a degree of discontentment. Case-in-point, the upcoming national referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Regardless of how I feel, or how I’m going to vote, from what I can gauge, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the Federal Government to get a mandate and change the Australian Constitution. On Saturday, October 14, Australians will be asked a simple question about adding words into the Constitution about an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The irony for me is that there seems to be a lot of opposition to this from many sections of our Aboriginal population. And as someone who observes social behaviour, this is a bit of a red flag. Surely, if a decision was going to be beneficial to Indigenous people, there would be a degree of unity in respect to support. Maybe, this could be the result of misinformation or, similarly, scare-mongering tactics, but still it needs to be considered as part of the big picture. The other glaring observation is there are a lot of people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who simply don’t understand what they are voting on. Australians have demonstrated time and time again they really don’t like change, especially, if it is only change for change’s sake. What does this change to the Constitution mean or what could it mean? Also, past elections have seen many an aspiring political figure fall on their own sword, because they did not treat the Australian public with respect. History shows us Aussies don’t like being told what to do — take us for granted, and you do so at your own peril. Democracy can often result in bitter pills having to be swallowed, when the silent majority get to cast their vote. Read the room. There is no doubt, in my opinion, that Australia must continue to move forward and evolve in its recognition and relationship with our First Nations people, but is changing the Constitution the right move at this time? And, for me, that is what the nation is being asked to do on October 14. Peter Fiorenza hosts Fiorenza on Sunday between 10am and noon on Radio MAMA