The Voice and RespectThe Yes campaign supporting The Voice to parliament kicked off yesterday. Leading up to this there has already been much media attention, especially when there was a shift by a Greens senator to the crossbench to pursue a different policy agenda from the Greens Party. We are lucky in this country that we can have a pluralist approach to debate, but we also have a media that is increasingly divided along conservative and progressive audiences that can flame division. Recently, one of our staff, a proud Aboriginal person, was verbally attacked in a suburban coffee shop in Canberra for no other reason than the colour of their skin. It seems incredulous that after a lifetime of direct and indirect racism that this person should be subjected to racist abuse because someone took umbrage at what they read in the media. In our colleague’s words and with permission: I don’t think mainstream Australia realizes the abuse we Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face the week of Australia Day. The micro aggressions, the cat calling from cars, the looks. I have lived almost 60 years, it’s not like I haven’t been racially abused before, but I think I felt safe in Canberra. What was shocking to me was that no one came to tell this person to leave me alone, my coffee shop even served him. This occurred on 27 January and our colleague expressed their growing apprehension this abuse will only escalate as the referendum approaches: My people are already sending out messages on social media, telling us to be careful because the lead up to the referendum for the Voice to Parliament will exacerbate these attacks. All I can say is, if you see an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, please don’t feel the need to let them in on your opinions that have been fed to you through a false narrative by certain media groups. We already know the negative mental and physical impacts that result from racism which compounds the existing disparities between the general population and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Mental Health Australia is supporting the Voice to Parliament and will be working with our members and stakeholders and providing resources to help equip communities and support safe conversations. At Mental Health Australia’s 2022 Grace Groom Memorial Oration in November, keynote speaker, Noel Pearson, eloquently detailed why the Voice should be supported and how it is in all Australians best interest to support this proposal. Does more need to be done? Yes, it does, but that work needs to be led by the voice of First Nations Australians. Now that the formal Yes and No campaigns are kicking off it is imperative that the debate is a respectful one and that First Nations peoples are not the subject of any additional individual or collective racism. It is incumbent on all of us as citizens to embrace the discussion but ensure that no harm results from our participation. As our colleague said: This incident has left me even more vulnerable, disappointed, and devastated. We have enough intergenerational trauma that we are carrying, I don’t need anymore. Harry Lovelock
Acting CEO | 
