Sorry to disappoint you, but no this one is not going down!

The modus operandi is set in cement from a guaranteed and established path to victory.

Have you forgotten the torment of gay marriage?

Both sides believe that they have presented plausible arguments. It's up to us to make a decision based on the only arguments we are going to get. It's a great pity that this race-based, divisive and dangerous nonsense was ever engineered by the Albanese regime.

But, that's the Hard Left for you.

"Nice gesture"? There is nothing nice about the Voice. And, no matter what some people claim that the 'majority' thinks about aboriginal affairs, the Voice has absolutely nothing to do with those affairs.

It's the most dangerous, misery-making thing to happen in Australia for eight decades, and a "left-wing political activist" comes up with this garbage!

The Voice has to be dealt with decisively - got out of the way forever - then its Marxist architect, Albanese, has to be dealt with and got out of the way forever.

I see that the government mouthpiece, the mainstream media, has manufactured a "split" in the NO campaign. Thinking of the Australian media as Pravda comes naturally these days.

Why should I? We have just 2 choices, yes or no.

If the yes camp could be bothered to very thoroughly argue their case and what they hoped it would achieve. Most folks are going to say no as this could be the first step to enshrine sovereignty?

They already have sovereignty over 50% of the land mass with native title etc. what needs to change is an unelected elite deciding how to spend the billions we throw at Aboriginal issues, housing, education and health!

Where has all the money gone and what did it buy? That is the question that needs to be put!
Alan B.

What I expect to see on polling day is all these starry eyed teenagers along with old hippies who think Yes will make a difference. Too naive or too old to change. It seems to me the driving force behind the Voice is white or almost white guilt. That's the comfortable middle class who think spending a few more billions won't perpetuate the sense of victimhood.

As for the voting slip you could always leave it blank. That and X will be counted as informal. I did that for the seat of Lyons in the last federal election as I thought none of the candidates were good enough. A wasted vote some said then again I felt no responsibility for the outcome. This referendum however is different to the one on gay marriage as the losing side won't let it rest.

I think this is a very negative article?
It leads us nowhere.
The yes/no proposal on the table is also absurd.
But we should vote a resounding NO, not fiddle with alternatives which mean absolutely nothing.
We have a vote: let's not waste it.

I listened to a federal government minister propounding the idea that the NO campaign is racist.
In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite.
It is the YES campaign which is trying to engineer division on the basis of racial identity.
It is the NO campaign which wants to prevent racism from being legitimised in our constitution.
Our present government supports a YES, which is a racist approach.
Albo is front and centre with this idea.
And that is certainly less than favourable.

The yes persons should be roundly and rigorously routed by wrathful ridicule.
How these adult persons manage to make such absurd and outrageous statements, and keep a straight face, is almost beyond my belief.
And those who plan to benefit from this raw racism must decide who they are.
Are they Australians?
If so, it is time for them to forget their personal nonsense, and join the rest of society in its culture and law.
If they are something else, with their own flag, it is time for them to leave, and live elsewhere.
I don't know where they should go, but I do know they should not stay here.

I heartily endorse the comments of Jacinta Price.
She is a woman of substance and drive.
She has a clear outlook.
She is a woman to be admired.

We should delve in to the concept of racism a little more perhaps?
There are many different 'races' living here, with many different ways and habits.
When we all live together as one commumity, a common set of laws and values must be devised.
And these must apply to all, regardless of race or colour.
Can there be exceptions?
I think so.
For example: if one particular race statistically lives for a substantially shorter time than the others, I can see the majority agreeing that they should be allowed to retire perhaps five years before the others.
People have a sense of fairness, and I think they would endorse such an idea.
And that idea is based on race, but would be a realistic concept.
But having special privileges, because of a tenuous connection to a race which lived here over 200 years ago, is a totally different and absurd notion.
So is the idea that somehow the 'white' races should compensate them for something which happened to their ANCESTORS?
Nobody alive today bears the slightest responsibility for the actions of their ancestors.
Nor can they benefit from any advantage gained by their ancestors.
Unless it is lawfully passed down through successive generations.
And then they could only benefit from things actually under the control of their ancestors.
Ancestors could not bequeath what they did not own.
So the idea of a 'voice' is not based on any logical or reasonable exception.
In fact it is merely a ploy: an attempt to gain further unfair advantage.
Certain persons individually have about twice the amount spent on them by the government, as is spent on the 'whites'.
The balance is already tipped well and truly in their favour.
And they want still more?
To assuage their hurt feelings no doubt.
And we are meant to believe all this?

"The NO camp pretends that the Voice could do something terribly dangerous and divisive."

Should the referendum succeed, a new form of nuisance would be created, but compared with all the nuisances we have already, calling it "dangerous" is a wild exaggeration.

I cannot even expect that the Voice would be divisive - it would be stupid alright to place it in the constitution, but having so many stupid things already in place, that would not make any significant difference.

A danger is when some untoward event is likely to happen, but the divisiveness that the referendum and its campaigns create is not a danger, but a fact already. For a concrete example of divisiveness, a couple of days ago I wanted to befriend someone, but upon seeing them wearing a badge of "say YES" I thought to myself, "nay, that will not end well, the topic is bound to come up in the conversation and spoil things, so better wait at least till after this stupid referendum".

A 'YES' vote would encourage more governments (left/right, it makes no difference) to bother us again with their referendums, as if they don't bother us enough already with their show of "elections" where we have the "privilege" to freely choose between their Tweedledee and their Tweedledum - A 'NO' vote would not make any difference in the treatment of aboriginals (if government wants to hear them then they would do so regardless whether or not it is in Australia's constitution and similarly if it wants to ignore them), but it would produce the one good effect of discouraging future referendums which are by nature bothersome, costly and divisive.

What a gormless article.

Has a bee in his bonnet about the use of the word "hither" in the statement so he is voting no all the while ignoring a sincere cry from the Heart.

"Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately
criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This
cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene
numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the
torment of our powerlessness.
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own
country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in
two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution."

Go back to your navel gazing mate while decent Australians step up and do the decent thing for a very decent cause and vote Yes.

I feel compelled to make a few more comments on comments.
Quote: Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. End of quote.
Could this possibly be because you break the law more often?
And why do you break the law?
What drives you to be so lawless?
Are you working on the assumption that you are the real owners of the country, and can do as you like?
And why do I hear so many of you who can barely speak english.
Didn't you all go to school?
Or are you telling me you lived behind a 44 gallon drum out in the never never?
Why didn't your parents get a job and send you to school like other children.
Don't give me a sob story about how you had your land taken from you.
You personally never owned it. You never had control of it.
I worked like a trojan to ensure my children could all go through university.
I have worked hard to make sure I have sufficient to live on through my older years.
And I speak and write english too. Well almost. ^_^

Dear Ipso Fatso,

«I feel compelled to make a few more comments on comments.»

Thank you for telling us about your feelings and being so honest.
It would be nice if everyone did,

«Are you working on the assumption that you are the real owners of the country, and can do as you like?»

This question should be pointed back at the people who now occupy this continent of Australia.

«Could this possibly be because you break the law more often?
And why do you break the law?
What drives you to be so lawless?»

Could this possibly be because "the law" is not their law?
Why should anyone follow the law of thieves?

The real owner of this and any other country, is God: only His laws should count!

Earlier you wrote:
«When we all live together as one commumity, a common set of laws and values must be devised.»

Yes, but these laws and values were already devised long before the world was created.

decent Australians step up and do the decent thing for a very decent cause and vote Yes.
SteeleRedux,
You'd better look up on the definition of decent !

Comments on comments on comments...
Thank you for being so frank.
Pity you were not 'earnest' as well.
I have not read such unadulterated rubbish in a long time.
I did suspect this was the prevailing attitude.
And it is as full of holes as ten swiss cheeses.
The truth is NOBODY is naturally ENTITLED to anything at all, EVER.
We forge our own destiny from day one.
We change the natural world to make it more comfortable and convenient.
There are no armchairs in the jungle or the desert, until we put them there.
But all of us have NEEDS which must be met if we are to survive.
To ensure these, we make rules and laws, and have a body of men dedicated to enforcing them.
That way we can have an orderly society, with some semblance of fairness and justice.
Our ownership of something is guaranteed by law, including the country itself.
It is the law which gives you the right to have something for your own use.
With the country as a whole, we define the borders, and defend those borders.
All through history groups of men have gone to neighbouring areas, and taken control of them by force or intimidation.
(It is happening right now, in several places overseas.)
We cannot go back and change history, however much we try.
We must accept the world as it is today, and get on with living.
I owe you nothing. Nothing at all.
You owe it to yourself to get your mind in gear, and get going.

Dear Ipso Fatso,

To summarise your post in three words: Might Is Right.

Just remember that mightier than the mighty is the almighty.

Nor has this continent ever been a lawless terra-nulla: God's laws were present and enforced long before any man lived here and will continue to prevail long after mankind is gone.

Natural law is part of matter itself.
It has always existed.
It is continuous.
And 'might' might not always be right, but in a democracy it works to a logical plan.
It protects us night and day.
You seem to have a lot of ideas floating in your head.
But somehow they don't seem organised.
You are aware of many things, but don't seem to have them in perspective?
Logical patterns are really useful.
You seem to have have one explanation for everything.
Isn't that a bit narrow?
Might there not be more to it?

I see the 'yes' campaign as akin to a steam locomotive travelling at high speed down a sharp decline.
If nothing arrests its progress, there is going to be a big mess to clean up.
What we need are two intrepid travellers in a DeLorian, who can turn back time and avert disaster.
But, realistically, that won't happen.
So we must just make the best of what we do have.
And we must strenuously campaign for truth, and avoid the 'yes' lies.
Peter should be front and centre with this.
Instead, he is dithering still.
He might have ability, but he can't seem to get in to gear.
Cruising in neutral just won't cut it Peter.
Nobody will be inclined to support you as you are right now.
The liberal party should stand for something.
You should be its firm voice.
If you are an example of how it operates, we will give it a miss.

Spoke with an indigenous bloke today & he said he'll be voting No. When I asked him why he simple explained that the activists & bureaudroids we've had for the past decades have done nothing & will continue to do nothing for "their" people.
He said there were many on his side who would like to see accountability first & a good looking into what all the Billions have been spent on. He said exactly what I've been saying for yonks. Most of the money has gone into the pockets of the corrupt manipulators white & black !
He also said that the Voice is already causing family & community rifts !

Re: that 'lawless terra-nulla' thing.
Long long ago some men travelled from the north.
They found a large area with a few people in it.
But there were lots of nice animals to eat.
They took over the land by superior force.
The other people who were here retreated, all the way south to 'tasmania'.
The sea rose, and isolated this entire area from the rest of the world.
Eventually, even tasmania was isolated, all by itself.
And a small group of the very originals lived on in 'tasmania'.
For a very long time, no-one knew how the newcomers had ousted the people who were already here.
Many visitors came and went over the millennia which followed.
And finally the Brits decided to stay.
But that happened recently, just over 200 years ago.
Whether they should or shouldn't, they did.
So here we are, and here we stay.
Well established now.
We even have armchairs in the outback.
Arguing about whether or not something in history was good or bad is pointless.
Trying to live in the past is simply stupid.
We can only live in the present.
We all have an equal challenge: to make life here work for us.
I am tired of those who stand in the 'wings', and deride the efforts of others.
While all the time demanding more and more 'compensation', for some fictitious loss.

Trying to live in the past is simply stupid.
Ipso fatso,
Maggots do & they're proud of it !