Hi Indy,

"To dispute the enormous effort & funding towards the Aborigines over the years is as bad as lying" I don't dispute that, since the days of your much hated Gough Whitlam, government has believed in three things. One, its an "Aboriginal problem", wrong its a European problem foisted onto Aboriginal people. Two, the European knows best, and can solve the problem, wrong Aboriginal people know best and they are best equipped to deal with the settler imposed problem. Three, money will solve the problem, wrong, until you recognise the first two, money will be wrongly directed and fail to cure the very problem government hoped it would. Too much time, money and effort, has been wasted over the past 50 years in trying to treat the symptoms, and not realising what the root causes are, and how to treat them!

p/s, Prior to Whitlam, the "Dutton's" of government had Aboriginal people living under sheets of rusted iron on river banks outside of towns, out of sight, out of mind, so don't give me that BS of how well we have treated Aboriginal people, first by neglect and genocide, and then by 50 years of misdirection. One thing Prof Marica Langton said, which I have to agree with, she said something like this; "The remarkable thing about us Aboriginal people is that after all these years of European settlement, we are still here."

Paul1405,
What so many fail to consider when arguing the subject of the taking over of this country is the context of the times.
Both, those who were sent here & those who were here were superstitious, simple humans with no concept of the manipulation of them by their respective leaders. Superstition ruled their daily lives besides trying to get a feed off the land.
Anyone who thinks today’s descendants of them are the same better think again & then a lot more. The only reason why many are now deemed or rather seen as successful is simply due to the fact that interbreeding, education & greatly improved health & better general living standards & condition provided by colonisation & the ever increasing good will of society.
Sadly, those who literally have it too good are now jeopardising the future of all. The one thing that needs to be accepted that throughout history, present & for a long time yet into the future too many still will fail to see wrongdoing in the context of the conditions & mindset of the prevailing era. The recent & present indoctrination by those who will never see is ample proof !

Hi Indy,

You seem to be arguing that the past is the past, and has no relevance to today, to do that is to deny history and its relevance to how it has brought us to our present situation. The three things which I find necessary in the overall debate is; One, recognition of the past, Two, understanding the problems of today, and Three, finding future solutions to those problems. I will vote 'YES' to the Voice, not because I think it is a panacea for all ills besetting Australia in regards to our first peoples, not only because it is the right thing to do, also because it offers a new direction and hope that things can be improved for all Australians, black and white.

p/s, Hopefully the majority of Australians, in the majority of states will also see it that way. But nothing is certain, I am not fooled by the Dutton's and the Cow Cocky's and their red necked opposition.

Paul1405,
You’re as good at twisting words as you’re bad at being decent. We must acknowledge the Past & that has been done for a very long time. In fact, it’s been written, verbally continued & perpetually paid for since it began. What you want is for your part forebears & society in general to continually compensate you what you’ve never had. You have been compensated more than any other group in the history of Mankind for loss of roaming grounds & you now have better living conditions than most. The fact that you demand facilities, commodities & lots of money despite the fact that these were never taken off you because you never had them in the first place speaks volumes for your lack of integrity.
I acknowledge the original inhabitants of this Nation & I acknowledge that colonialisation has heaped more good than bad upon them since 1770. The present wish list is proof of that ! At least I haven’t as yet heard of demands which do not involve Colonial goods & methods.

Paul,

The past provides context, but you cannot fix the racism of the past by installing new racism. The men and women working today are not responsible for the actions of their ancestors.

Either everyone is equal as an Australian or they are not.

I will be voting no, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because I don't want my children to suffer from the monumental cock up that Labor is trying to foist on the voters.

With comments like this, "Cow Cocky's and their red necked opposition." demonstrates the emotive hate the yes proponents for everyone who votes No. They are irrational and emotional toward a substantial portion of Australians.