letter from Australia
Recently the Australia electorate voted on an important constitutional referendum which would have recognised the indigenous Aboriginal people in the constitution and would have established a separate indigenous Voice to the Parliament.
In order to pass, this amendment required four of the six federal states to vote in favour, as well as a majority of the electorate. In the event every single state voted against, and over 60% of the electorate. It was a humiliating and, to some, surprising result. Some have called it Australia’s Brexit moment.
The problem was not the first part, the question of recognition. That would have passed overwhelmingly. The issue was the setting up of a separate constitutional body based on race. To many ordinary people it looked like discrimination based on race.
Gossip is no longer just local – it’s global
The woman was horrified… “You wouldn’t dare do that”. She was a member in the church and had just been …