"More needs to be demanded of us"

Today I am handing over the post to my friend M... Those of you who are regular readers here will already know something about him.

M... is Aboriginal. We have tried to explore his family tree and we think he may have one great-grandparent who was an Afghan cameleer but his other ancestors are Aboriginal.

This is M....

"First, I want to thank Cat for the opportunity to say something here. Those of you who live in what Cat lovingly calls Downunder will know we are about to have a referendum. The question being put to us is whether "To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".

I will be voting "No".  Why?

I will be voting that way because we already have a voice. We have many voices. My great-grandparents had the right to vote in this state. I do not know if they did but they had the right to do so. My grandparents did vote. My parents voted. I enrolled to vote the day I turned twenty-one, that being the age at the time. My sister did the same. We have children and grandchildren who now vote. We have a voice when we vote.

It took a while but we now have the same right to a voice in every other area of life as any other person in this country. My mother taught us we had to "stick up for ourselves". She also taught us,"You don't get things by asking for them. You get things by working for them. You can earn respect."

Mum was respected. Dad was too. Dad held down a good job in the railways. He never missed a day of work. He was promoted more than once. Mum held him up as an example to us. She was an example too. She cleaned houses while we were at school. Our house was clean too. We went to school clean and with good things in our lunch boxes. At night Mum supervised our homework and read bedtime stories to us. Dad taught both of us to do things around home and how to care for the bikes we rode to high school. It was years before we had a car. Dad got free transport on the railways. What did we need a car for?

We didn't know it then but Cat's grandfather was the guarantor for the loan Dad got to buy our house. Not having a car saved money that could be used to pay off the mortgage. Yes, Dad got a mortgage. He needed a guarantor but he had a steady job and a reputation for reliability. My parents owned their own home by the time I was forty. They expected me to own mine too. 

I got an apprenticeship on leaving school. It wasn't much to my liking but I finished it and went on to be employed by the local council. The work was not much to my liking. I was involved with a youth group and I did like that. When a position came up which involved working with young teenagers I applied. I didn't get the job but the person who was interviewing offered me another pathway. 

"You need to do some study," he told me. He gave me the information I needed and helped me make the application. I did the required study while I was working. Was it easy? No. There were times when I wanted to give up. I am not a natural student. 

I did finish that course and I applied for eleven positions before I managed to get employment in what became a demanding but very satisfying career in youth work. In order to progress I needed to do more study. Mum and Dad encouraged me and Cat's father helped me learn those all important study skills. They all did the same for my sister. She completed a nursing course.

Have my sister and I faced discrimination because of the colour of our skin? Yes, sometimes we have but we have also pushed past it. We have always been employed. I was promoted more than once. In retirement I still get called on occasionally. I own my own home and a good car. I have travelled widely for work and, with my late wife, for pleasure. My life, except for losing Lindy too soon, has been good.

I believe this is possible for any Aboriginal person. Yes, I was "fortunate" in my parents and their attitude towards work but I also had to work. My sister and I were never allowed to accept anything "because you're Aboriginal". We were told we had to earn what we got or not have it.

So, why will I vote "No"? I will vote no because it would give us something we do not need. It will be something we have not earned. I believe more needs to be demanded of us, much more. Being Aboriginal is not an excuse for anything. We need to work like everyone else.