The coming months will see continued debate around the proposed referendum for an
Indigenous "Voice to Parliament." According to the website of From the Heart, theVoice would be a constitutionally recognised advisory body to the Federalparliament designed to "enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people togive advice to the Federal Parliament about laws and policies that impact themthrough a simplified policy-making process and structural change. This would thenensure that "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are included in thelaw-making process, rather than having bureaucrats and politicians deciding whatis best for them."While on paper, this proposal appears to be a significant step forward in thestruggle for First Nations self-determination, prominent grassroots First Nationsactivists have continued to criticise the Voice. Black Peoples Union presidentKieran Stewart-Assheton has stated that "we believe that the Voice will not onlyachieve no progress for us, but it will actually set us back". While in anInvasion Day speech, Gary Foley reiterated not just the emptiness of the promisessurrounding the Voice, but the danger that it poses to the struggle forself-determination going forward. Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne Invasion Dayrallies this year were dominated by activists arguing against the media andgovernment-driven notion of the Voice as having full support amongstFirst-Nations People or being to their benefit.At the current juncture, it is necessary to remember that no political decisionexists in a vacuum, and politicians rarely act out of moral or ethical fortitude.Under capitalism, politics and reforms develop in an interplay between classinterests, material conditions and the social force of the classes and movementsacross society. This is to say that the current push for the Voice needs to beunderstood within the context of Australian capitalism.The fact that the Voice has a lot of support from the Australian ruling class isa significant factor that we can't ignore. It is strongly backed by theAustralian Labour Party, and while the Liberal-Nationals remain divided on theissue, there remains significant support within the party. Most strikingly,significant support exists across the mining sector, and the proposal maintainsthe backing of the Australian Business Council and Newscorp. History has shownthat these entities do not have a modicum of care for the conditions orself-determination of First Nations people.We should ask ourselves then, what is to be gained by the ruling class through areferendum for the Voice, and why are they acting now? For us, these twoquestions are connected, and the answers to them originate in the steadilygrowing movement, centred around but not limited to the yearly Invasion Dayrallies and struggles to defend sacred sites and land rights. Invasion Dayrallies have grown massively over the past ten years, but their impact has beenfelt beyond the events themselves. It is clear that the nationalistic fervourthat once surrounded Australia Day has dimmed significantly over the past yearsand public sentiment has continued to grow in favour of First Nations'self-determination. At the same time, the State has been forced to contend withpotent and effective struggles to defend sacred sites, which have providedsignificant roadblocks to the desires of capitalist development. Importantly, thesame activists that have been at the forefront of efforts to build Invasion Dayas a rallying cry and the defence of sacred sites are also those who have mostfrequently expressed opposition to the Voice.No capitalist government will act voluntarily against the self-serving interestsof the ruling class. But the exploited and oppressed have always been able toforce their interests upon the ruling class through the building of massmovements and the flexing of their collective strength. While the currentmovement is not yet truly capable of forcing major concessions from thegovernment, the government can see the growing risk that it may be possible inthe future. Rather than allowing the movement to continue to develop and risk theprospect of being forced to concede genuine structural change, the government isinstead seeking to divert energy towards the Voice.Therein lies the reality of the Voice. As a reform, it is a poisoned chalice.While it may sound progressive on paper, or at worst a harmless and symbolicgesture, within it resides a genuine threat to the movement's continued growthand real reform in the future. By passing the Voice, the ruling class hopes toachieve two things. Firstly, it will allow for the further development of aruling stratum amongst First Nations people, tied to the capitalist State andwith significant pull, which can then be used to control any grassroots movementthat exists or may develop (suchas the struggle to defend sacred sites). Suchis the path of all state collaboration. The Voice would allow for the spreadingof the notion that the real fight is now done, a Voice has been won, and throughthat voice, a small segment of First Nations people can achieve change throughthe parliamentary process. This leads to the second aim of the Voice, dissipatingthe momentum built up so far through the diversion of efforts from collectivestruggle towards elite politicking.In Australia, all socialists and revolutionaries should hold First Nationsself-determination as a centre point of their platform. Fighting for genuinematerial improvements in the lives of First Nations people, for an end to deathsin custody and more, remain essential political tasks in this country. However,the Voice offers little help in completing these tasks.The oppressed have always had a voice. But that voice is not found in parliament.While From the Heart may argue that the Voice would allow for "Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islanders" to be "included in the law-making process, rather thanhaving bureaucrats and politicians deciding what is best for them" this ignoresthe reality of the State. Parliament and the State are institutions designed forminority rule to facilitate the control of all the oppressed and exploitedclasses. Our entry into parliament does not give voice to the masses; it silencesthe masses to elevate the voice of a select few.The increasing support from the ruling class for the Voice should tell us thatgenuine reform is becoming increasingly possible. But that possibility has onlydeveloped through developing mass struggle on the ground. Accepting the rulingclass's poisoned chalice now would simply be playing directly into their hands.There is a final point worth acknowledging. There is an understandable reluctanceon the left to come out in opposition to the Voice due to the fear of lining upalongside One Nation and other far-right ghouls who have expressed their ownopposition to the Voice. The opposition of these parties stems solely from racismand from wanting to further stoke the culture wars to their advantage. Theseparties should continue to be resisted and their ideas opposed. But we should notmistake criticism of the Voice from the left for siding with the far-right.Whereas the far-right opportunistically oppose even symbolic notions of FirstNations self-determination, we disagree with the Voice because in it we see thegerm of an institution that can strangle the building of self-determination inthe future.Self-determination will not be found inside parliament. It can only be builtthrough the struggle on the streets. Let's resist the ruling classes' poisonedchalice and maintain the demands that have been long fought for and that theVoice would be incapable of achieving.End deaths in custody. End the mass incarceration of First Nations People. Endthe systematic oppression and disadvantage. End the destruction of sacred sites.Self-determination now.These are essential demands. But they can only be won through the building ofpower from below, on the streets, and in our workplaces and communities. The tasktoday isn't to win a collaborationist Voice to Parliament but to continue tobuild a fighting movement on the ground, to strengthen and increase ties ofsolidarity between the First Nations struggle and all other struggles of theexploited and oppressed. Change is possible; it may even be on the horizon, butonly if we continue to fight for it.https://www.acmeanjin.org/article/the-oppressed-will-find-no-voice-in-parliament_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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