Hannah McGlade on Australia’s Shame and the Work to Be Done

In October, 60 percent of Australia voters said “no” to changing the country’s constitution to recognize and incorporate an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Parliament. The referendum’s failure, and the acrimonious campaign that preceded it, was “an extremely disappointing reflection on Australia,” said Hannah McGlade, an Australian academic, human rights advocate, and lawyer. McGlade, who is an associate professor at Curtin University's law school, is a Kurin Minang Noongar woman of the Bibulman nation.

In an interview with The Diplomat’s Catherine Putz, McGlade explained that in the wake of the vote the mood among Indigenous communities in Australia is “somber.” Given the opportunity to move the country toward greater equality with what was, ultimately, a modest proposal, Australians failed.

“Australia remains a racist country,” McGlade said.

That said, she noted that nearly 40 percent of Australians “made the right and fair decision.” There is much work to be done on a variety of issues from racism and discrimination, to suicide and the incarceration of Indigenous children. “We won’t ever stop fighting for our rights as Aboriginal people,” McGlade said. “We have a history that dates back 65,000 years to this land and won’t be defeated by settler colonialism today.”

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, Australians were asked a single question: Whether to change the constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The referendum failed. What do you make of the result of the vote?

The “no” vote was an extremely disappointing reflection on Australia, indicating the ongoing issue of racism toward Aboriginal people. The “no” campaign was heavily bankrolled including by organizations linked to fossil fuel extraction, who oppose Indigenous peoples’ rights for obvious reasons.

This was a vote about Aboriginal rights and Aboriginal peoples’ proper place in the nation, and sadly the majority subscribed to the racist arguments that were heavily promoted, including by certain Indigenous peoples working with conservatives. This vote was watched closely by Indigenous peoples globally and is a shameful reflection on Australia.

In the wake of the referendum’s failure, what is the mood among Australia’s Indigenous communities?

Aboriginal communities have been given a clear message by the majority of Australians that they are not respected, and that Australia remains a racist country. The mood is somber. It was a modest reform proposal that would have bettered the nation by helping to close the gap on inequality. We know what the Liberal [and] National parties are made of, and what they could do to Aboriginal people if ever re-elected, and we can’t let that happen.

Why was this issue – adding an Indigenous Voice to the Constitution and the Parliament – so important not just for Australia’s Indigenous communities, but for the country writ large?

It was important for all Australians to reform the Constitution developed in 1901 in the era of the White Australia policy, an overtly racist era that reflected Australia’s historical foundations. The process of constitutional reform has been underway for the last 20 years or more and Aboriginal people rejected symbolic recognition.

The Voice proposal was solid and would have always ensured Indigenous representation and advice to the Parliament. This would have meant better laws and policies affecting Indigenous people, and progress on closing the gap, which is failing. As a nation we can’t afford to keep failing, in financial terms, in wider terms of reconciliation.

The reform was a prospect for change and progress that was ultimately rejected.

How did this issue become so controversial? And was this controversy – and the nastiness of the “no” campaign – expected? Did the “yes” campaign anticipate the level of backlash that occurred?

It became controversial at the moment the opposition used race and racism, claiming that the Voice would amount to privileges for Aboriginal people and special treatment. The racism of the old days was repackaged and refreshed by the right for political gain. Aboriginal people, even children, experienced rising levels of racism in the streets, shops, parks, which was just disgraceful.

The “yes” campaign may not have fully anticipated this. Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney called on Australians’ better selves and nearly 40 percent of Australian made the right and fair decision. So there are many people standing with us for change. We have to remember that and continue our work for racial equality.

Where does the Indigenous rights movement go from here?

The Indigenous rights movement is diverse and wide encompassing, from climate change to cultural revitalization. The U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is supported by the Australian government and is a critical international instrument that our people fought for. We need to remain vigilant about our rights, and that is challenging in the absence of a national political body. My work is concerned with state violence, indigenous femicide, racial discrimination, incarceration, culture and healing.

What are the most acute issues for the Indigenous community at present, and are there mechanisms currently in place to go about addressing these issues?

Aboriginal incarceration, including Aboriginal children’s incarceration, child removal, and suicide, have been increasing. We haven’t addressed systemic and structural discrimination and racism. These are fundamental human rights issues that must be addressed.

We are currently using the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Optional Protocol to highlight the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women beginning in the 16 days of activism. Campaigns across Australia in regards to mistreatment of Aboriginal children are ongoing, and many are also involved in protecting lands and environment feeling the stress of climate change.

We won’t ever stop fighting for our rights as Aboriginal people. We have a history that dates back 65,000 years to this land and won’t be defeated by settler colonialism today.