Australia
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

A rich culture that cannot be denied

September 29, 2023 — 8.00pm

Andrew Dyson

Andrew DysonCredit: .

To submit a letter to The Age, email [email protected]. Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.

When my family migrated to Brisbane from England many years ago, we were never told any First Nations history. It was as if it did not exist. Being born in Portsmouth from where the First Fleet sailed I was well aware of the British version of events. Since then I have learnt much and am deeply sad that such a rich cultural history was denied. Accepting the hand of friendship offered by the Uluru Statement from the Heart is the very least I can do and vote Yes in the referendum. A treaty should have happened long ago, but this is the least that I can and will do now.
Roger Cook, Kinglake West

After so much taken, a Voice isn’t much is it?
Since 1788, First Australians have had so much taken from them. They have had their lands taken from them, their lives taken from them, their cultures and languages taken from them, and their children taken from them. Now they are asking to be given something – a Voice to make representations to government and parliament on matters directly relating to them. That isn’t asking for too much is it?
Dan McGlade, Brunswick

Referendums, beginnings and endings
I know I’ve been wrong in the past. I thought the world was going to end when Bill Haley replaced Ella Fitzgerald on the pop music charts. It got worse when they removed the letters from my telephone number. But I admit it, I got it wrong.
In the sixties I thought the world would end when the contraceptive pill became widely available, hotel closing hours were extended from six o’clock to 10 o’clock, and they introduced decimal currency. The world didn’t end, but it certainly changed.
In the seventies, the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18, the metric system of weights and measures replaced the imperial system, fahrenheit became celsius, conscription was abolished, women got improved access to abortion, and homosexuality was decriminalised.
In the eighties, I thought the world would end when people started talking about land rights and women’s rights and nuclear proliferation and immigration. Then we had the AIDS epidemic. And then, to top it off, the stockmarket crashed. But the world didn’t end. The Y2K bug was supposed to wipe us off the map, but it didn’t happen. Then the attack on the Twin Towers in New York surely signalled the start of a world war, if not the end of the world. But no, I was wrong again.
In the teens, following the result of an Australia-wide survey, the Marriage Act was changed to allow men to marry men and women to marry women. That caused many a palpitation, but the world continued to rotate.
I may have been wrong in the past, but this time I know I’ve got it right. Regardless of the result of the referendum to establish the Voice to parliament, for some people the world may seem to come to an end, while for others a new world may start.
Tim Freer, Torquay

FORUM

The road to hope
My journey as a Fitzroy supporter began at the age of eight in 1944 when I listened to the grand final between Fitzroy and Richmond on the radio in my lounge room overlooking St Georges Road, North Fitzroy, and two drop kicks away from the Brunswick Street oval.
The passion remained until “I fell into a years-long abyss of football mourning” as Zach Hope wrote with feeling (″⁣I lost pride until the ‘Roy in the boy roared again″⁣, 28/9). Grief, as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has told us, needs to navigate several stages before understanding and acceptance give rise to joy and the renewal of passion. For me the fervour arose when the Lions hit rock bottom some years ago and my sense of pity for the ″⁣down and outs″⁣ of society kicked in.
Regardless of the result of the 2023 grand final my heart, supported by a pacemaker, will always beat strongly for the maroon and blue. Grief has finally given way to hope.
John O’Halloran, Thornbury

Invasion from the north
Your correspondent from Gympie in Queensland (Letters, 29/9) believes that the only threat to southern Australia is a pod of humpback whales. On the contrary, we are being invaded this weekend, around the MCG, by a pod or two of Queenslanders.
Brian Kidd, Mount Waverley

The Pavlidis link
In the absence, slowness or reluctance of government action in response to royal commission reports and other equally as important still pending inquiries, the AFL grand final and its public holiday in Victoria, are just the ticket for the refreshing break that activists need to include in their campaigns to keep their batteries charged (Illustration, Jim Pavlidis, 29/9).
Ruth Farr, Blackburn South

The real enemy
How provocative must it seem to China, that we’re moving troops to our northern borders? (“Hard decisions: Hundreds of troops sent north in Australian Army overhaul”, 27/9) The real threat to our security is not China. It’s climate change.
Our armed forces should also be trained and equipped to deal with the continuing natural disasters, which, driven by climate change, keep hitting us with increasing ferocity and frequency. They need to be stationed close to where these outbreaks are likely to occur and, with an El Nino summer looming, that’s where bushfires are likely to occur – not rattling sabres across the Pacific from Darwin and Townsville.
Maggie Cross, Kew

Lasting legacy
There has been much written about Daniel Andrews since his resignation. In 2020, we moved from the ACT to Victoria to live permanently so that my husband could avail himself through voluntary assisted dying legislation. He died when and how he chose in 2022. A beautiful death. Like me there are many who will thank the Andrews government for legislation that is rational and life affirming.
Thank you Daniel Andrews for making a good death possible in the last stage of life.
Gryff Jamieson-Ballard,
Castlemaine

Stirred by conscience
As a historian I am saddened by the possibility that we, as a people, may be about to reject the generous offer made in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Nevertheless, I hope that when each of us has the ballot paper in our hand we might be stirred by conscience to embrace this opportunity for constitutional reconciliation.
John Rickard, Windsor

Not a radical step
I cannot understand how anyone who has read the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the proposition being put to the vote on October 14 could vote No. It may not give enough, it may not even have much effect, it simply asks us to recognise First Nations peoples, allow them to advise the parliament on matters that concern them and allows the parliament to make laws.
What’s wrong with that? Surely it’s worth a try, it’s hardly radical.
Geoff Wasley,
Berwick

Discriminatory lives
Several correspondents have said they’re against discriminating on race so they’re voting No. I would ask them, isn’t an incarceration rate of 29 per cent, compared to a population of 3 per cent, discriminatory? Isn’t the likelihood that an Indigenous male will go to jail rather than university, discriminatory? Isn’t their shorter life expectancy discriminatory? Isn’t their lack of access to fresh food and housing, in remote areas, discriminatory? And yet instead of rising up in outrage at these injustices against Indigenous Australians it’s the proposal to overcome these discriminations, through a Voice to parliament, that people are opposed to.
Samantha Keir, East Brighton

Renewables, yes
The fact that to establish a nuclear industry in Australia would take over a decade is not the only argument against it (Letters, 29/9). In advocating nuclear power, your correspondent believes we should “deploy all the available technologies ... as efficiently and inexpensively as possible”. If by “new and improved” technologies he means the small modular reactors promoted by the Coalition, this technology is fraught with technical problems and time/cost blowouts.
When the dam in Ukraine ″⁣broke″⁣, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was seriously compromised by a water shortage. In France this summer nuclear output, already reduced by corrosion and other problems, was threatened due to river cooling-water being too warm. Renewables continue with technological advances, reducing costs and improving components recycling. They do not produce deadly, hundreds of thousands of years waste.
Fiona Colin, Malvern East

Special school asset
I chose to send my child to a special school (″⁣Probe split on future of special schools″⁣, 29/9). The celebrations of his ″⁣special″⁣ and unique achievements, the birthday party invitations, and the empathy from other parents made it all worthwhile. Experiencing a level playing field early in life helped him build resilience and self-esteem. He has gone out into the real world now and is flourishing.
Andrea Middling, Canterbury

Sheep welfare
Agricultural associations want Labor to reverse its policy to end live sheep exports (″⁣Plea to PM on live sheep exports″⁣, 29/9). Their argument that Middle Eastern countries will buy live sheep elsewhere means they will buy their live sheep from the northern hemisphere where the sheep are acclimatised to the summer heat. That makes welfare sense.
It is a fact that Australia’s live sheep trade is dwindling. Middle Eastern countries import large amounts of Australian chilled lamb and beef via air freight. Slaughtering sheep in Australia not only ensures better welfare standards, it also provides jobs here. Sending our live sheep on perilous sea journeys to face un-stunned slaughter in faraway lands does little for Australian farmers’ welfare reputation. The only ″⁣diplomatic gaffe″⁣ the government has made is refusing to allow Qatar Airways more flights so that the Middle East can buy more of our chilled sheep meat and boost our export income.
Jan Kendall, Mount Martha

Ya know, no
Can anything be done about the predominance of all manner of people padding out their conversations with “ya know”? It drives me crazy listening to guests on The Drum, for instance. It seems to be almost a tic, not a conscious choice of words.
Maureen Goldie, Blackwood, SA

Global reading
Kerri Sackville’s Comment (28/9) should be required reading for every male student in every school in the world.
Alex Joseph, Patterson Lakes

Compliment of the day
To the lady who scolded me for parking in a seniors bay at the supermarket the other day, I can only surmise that it was a backhanded compliment. No offence taken.
John Rawson, Mernda

AND ANOTHER THING

Politics
So the iceman lost his ″⁣cool″⁣ (″⁣Angry Andrews goes nuclear″⁣, 29/9 ).
David Cayzer, Clifton Hill

It’s a sad reflection on the Victorian opposition that it sees ″⁣the best opportunity the Coalition has had in a long time″⁣ comes from the change of premier, not from it lifting its own very poor game.
Margaret Callinan, Hawthorn

If Daniel Andrews’ last act as premier was the riot act, it’s no wonder he was keen to go. It doesn’t augur well for how his party will labour on without him.
Jenifer Nicholls, Armadale

Furthermore
The Taipan helicopters, another Australian Defence fiasco.
Reg Murray, Glen Iris

Some refer to the Australian Constitution as the nation’s birth certificate. But when you turn it over you’ll find the death certificate for many Indigenous people.
Geoff Allen, Mount Eliza

Many No campaigners have higher priorities than the Voice, yet a Voice to parliament would improve laws affecting those priorities, eg Nyunggai Warren Mundine’s critical areas of school attendance, jobs and community violence.
John Hughes, Mentone

If children with disabilities are to be schooled in mainstream schools then government need to fully support schools so they can cope.
Craig Tucker, Newport

The pre-match photo of Kiss has left me wondering whether they now look scarier with their make-up on or off.
Mark Kennedy, Sebastopol

For god’s sake, be kind. It must be so hard to be a man today. Appreciation of loveliness is welcome from anyone.
Margaret Skeen, Point Lonsdale

I hear the marine life yell, yes, yes, yes at the halting of seismic blasting.
Sharyn Bhalla, Ferntree Gully

Finally
Go Fitzroy! You good thing.
Nina Wellington Iser, Hawthorn