Tarneen Onus Browne is one of Urban List’s 2023 guest editors. A proud Gunditjmara, Bindal, Yorta Yorta person and Torres Strait Islander from the Mer and Erub islands, Browne is the filmmaker behind 'Young Mob Questioning Treaty'. They’re also a major community organiser for Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance.
As the date of the referendum on a representative body quickly approaches, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia find themselves in a familiar and unsettling position.
The current atmosphere is reminiscent of 2017, when the LGBTQIA+ community faced harsh public scrutiny and discrimination at the hands of Australia’s same-sex marriage plebiscite. Much like in the marriage equality campaign, Australia is making a decision about us, without us. This time, it's about a representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and, as a nation, it’s imperative that we choose the better path in this moment that will ensure a fairer future.
If we look back to 2017, the plebiscite was a defining moment in Australian history. It showcased both the power of collective support and the consequences of divisive public discourse. In the end, the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies united to advocate for love, equality, and acceptance.
Unfortunately, this unity did come at a cost, as some LGBTQIA+ people tragically took their own lives due to the homophobia and transphobia stirred by conservative messaging. Many of us in the LGBTIQA+ community still haven’t recovered from this violence.
However, the resounding ‘Yes’ from the same-sex marriage plebiscite (with 61.6 per cent of participants in the voluntary survey approving to change the law) led to more transformative policies. It highlighted the broader impact of such pivotal moments including the banning of conversion therapies in Victoria, implementing gender-neutral bathrooms, and making it easier for trans people to change their gender marker and name on their birth certificate. These policies have been life-changing for so many trans people, including my partner, who changed their name and gender marker in 2022 through Births, Deaths and Marriages in South Australia.
Understandably, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have mixed feelings about the upcoming referendum. While Australia is making a decision on behalf of us, I feel that there really is nothing else we can do to change this moment but demand an astounding ‘Yes’ on Saturday 14 October.
Historically, we already know the consequences of a ‘No’ vote. It's not a ‘No’ to a representative body—it's a ‘No’ to recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
If you are entertaining the idea of a ‘No’ vote or know someone who is, it’s important to know that Australia actually already has representative bodies that exist for Aboriginal People on a smaller scale.
Take Victoria’s First Peoples Treaty Assembly, established in 2019. Made up of Traditional Owners of Country who have been democratically chosen by their communities to represent needs and ideas on the journey to Treaty, the assembly members represent communities across five regions that cover Victoria—Metropolitan, South East, South West, North East and North West. This representative body was voted by mob and for mob.
I would like to see a major representative body for us as every representative body for First Nations people in the past has been torn up by subsequent governments. We know when the majority of Australians vote ‘Yes’ in the referendum, we can create a larger moment and more permanent representative body that will advocate for communities and say what needs to be said.
We know that if we build a groundswell of public support and win a resounding ‘Yes’ then a wave of transformative change for First Nations justice will follow. Public momentum and demand give the government a political mandate to act on bold policy reform. If First Nations communities are represented in shaping national policies, there’ll be better outcomes in housing, health and more, because we are the only ones who know what’s best for our communities.
Read on to find out how to vote in the referendum locally, or if you're overseas.
Image credit: Supplied