THOUGHTS ON THE VOICE REFERENDUM

and my experiences of the In Between World.

Before giving details for writing this article, I’ll offer you a brief background on myself and my father Dave’s background and work which have strongly influenced me.

My name is Drew Goddard, I was born in Perth, Western Australia, and currently reside and work in the Goldfields. I am predominantly a musician, having undertaken a plethora of jobs in the music industry since the late 90s, and, in more recent years, as a teacher, mentor and social worker. 

My mother and father were both teachers and my early childhood was spent in different regionaltowns in Western Australia. We often moved annually to places like Mingenew, Goomalling, Esperance, Southern Cross and Kununurra. 

We left the Kimberley and returned to Perth in 1990 where Dave undertook a Ph. D. I completed my schooling, then followed my passion to forge a career as a musician, which has been predominantly with the band Karnivool, along with many other roles in music. 

My father’s work

Dave Goddard, my old man, after completing his Ph. D, became a researcher and facilitator. Along with his research focus, he has had a lifetime of connections with Indigenous people. For the last three decades, his research has focussed on the disadvantage suffered by Indigenous people compared with the non-Indigenous population. Some non-Indigenous people kept telling him the disadvantage was the fault of Indigenous people, some said it was caused by non-Indigenous people, some said both groups caused it and for some, it didn’t matter because those people were ‘just natives’. It mattered to Dave, however, enough for him to want to try to create positive change to the status quo but leave how it was best done to those who wanted to make it happen.

Over two decades from the late 1980s, Dave, the late Nick Norris and Colin Bell developed a program called Walk Together (WT) in Australia. WT grew from two bases. The first was by defining culture as the ways of knowing (the values) and doing (actions) of a closely associated group of people. The second was to establish a way for two different cultures to connect and collaborate in a “Between World”, walking and working together. In that World, change benefitting both cultures could occur without one culture dominating or controlling the other in any way.

A simple summary of how the program works can be accessed by contacting me if you’re interested, and I’ll give you an email contact for Dave. Below, however, is a link to Walk Together’s Australian website.

www.walktogetherinternational.com

My work and experiences with Indigenous culture.

As a young fella, growing up in the Kimberley, I was lucky to have some memorable and formative experiences travelling around regional and remote communities and seeing and meeting Indigenous people. As a kid, for instance, I vividly remember making friends with Indigenous kids who’d come to my house to play games outside and how travelling around the Kimberley in 1989 was showing me another way of life. One memory that stands out in particular was going to school for a couple of days in a remote community called Wangkatjungka near Fitzroy Crossing. While I was one of only two non-Indigenous kids in the school, I was accepted by the Indigenous kids who immediately felt like friends. Only later with age did I understand that differences in culture existed, as did that term we call “Race” and the very real disparities that Indigenous people experience every day from birth.

Later in life, between my busy touring and recording schedule, I started accompanying my father on his work trips out to communities like Roebourne in the Pilbara region of WA, to Leonora, Menzies and Wiluna in the Goldfields of WA and also to Maningrida and Yuendumu in the Northern Territory.

There, I operated as a neutral observer to take minutes of the meetings held over three separate trips to each community. 

These trips were great, spending time with the old man, getting back out into the country and

reconnecting with the feelings and experiences I’d had as a child. I soon realised I was becoming intrigued by Indigenous cultures, surrounded by difference in the ways of knowing and doing and the music of the different languages. The old man and I were drawn by the gentleness of the people, their culture and stories and the openness with which things were shared with us, which, I was told, was because we shared information about ourselves and always asked many questions.

Before one of the trips out to the Goldfields, and in a time where I was feeling a little bit lost and looking for something different from the band’s schedule and life in the city, my father encouraged me to bring along a guitar and amp and introduce myself to these communities. It was a great way to strip down my perceived identity and ask myself, “who am I, and what is it that I do?” 

Also on one of these trips, I met and connected instantly with Brenton Meynell, a friendly local road train driver, who ended up in Leonora with his family, somewhat by accident. I was drawn to his humility and way he gave up his time to teach music, coach football and engage with the community, getting his hands dirty in the process whilst working on the Shire. We soon started an initiative called “Barefoot Bands” as a way to travel to regional and remote areas, a way to find, connect with and record local musicians in places where there may not be the same opportunities that are in the city. These links will show examples.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100068573233951

https://themusicnetwork.com/karnivools-drew-goddard-talks-barefoot-bands-learning-through-community/amp/

It was my father’s influence and my growing understanding of the power music has to connect people and be a tool of healing and communication which led me to more trips out to remote areas and gave me the passion and a pathway for ‘my work’ that I’ve followed to this day. 

The Voice Referendum
(making the same mistakes as in the past?)

It’s important to acknowledge the good will and intention of the majority of the “Yes” Voters and the ground swell in recent years in Australia to a general awareness of the disparities that exist (see below).

Indigenous people make up between 3 to 4 % of the population but compared with the non-Indigenous population, … are:
 - 12.5 times more likely to be imprisoned 
 - 26 times more likely to be imprisoned as a child
 - 1.7 times higher mortality rates with 61% deaths before age 65 (compared with 17% for non-indigenous)

(stats from Australian Law Reform Commission and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare)

To me, the good will and intention arising from statistics like those cited is largely misplaced and misguided. The action required must be for real change that goes beyond voting Yes (Or No) on a referendum that has no clear plan and ultimately could allow us to make the same mistakes as have occurred in the past.

Are we trying to make decisions for Indigenous people, but without really understanding that non-Indigenous ways of knowing and doing (including our law and democratic principles) is only one way (our way) of operating? Our way is by Law which is best defined as a written system of rules created and enforced through social or governmental institutions.

Indigenous people have what is termed Lore which is usually defined as “a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth”.

There are an array of different Indigenous language groups, each one regarding itself as a nation with a unique language or dialect and a culture which Indigenous people have told me means no tribe can make decisions for another. Yet here we are in 2023 with all of Australia making decisions for 3% of the population.

My Thoughts on Voting on the Voice.

I am, of course, in favour of Aboriginal people having a Voice (to Parliament) as long as it is a Voice connected with some authority. Right now, it seems to be a collective which advises Parliament on behalf of all First Nations and Parliament accepts or rejects the advice. It feels as if it is repeating the process that has been operating since 1788.

For me, First Nations people have always had a voice. The problem for me is that for many years and even currently, these voices are not being heard, listened to or properly understood. Here is an example.

One recent evening in Kalgoorlie, a place where Indigenous peoples from many tribes meet, I walked outside the bar where I was working to hear a group of Indigenous people sounding very angry and trying to communicate to people. Whilst the Indigenous voices could be heard, they were not being listened to. Perhaps they were frightening for most of the non-Indigenous people who seemed to be on the receiving end of these words, some of which were “this is our land!!!!”

I intervened by walking up to the Indigenous people and openly and calmly said, “Hullo. I’m sorry you are feeling this way. I am listening”. 

They proceeded to tell me that they were angry and frustrated about the Voice Referendum, but people weren’t listening to them. Aren’t these the everyday Indigenous voices we need to listen to and understand? Are these the everyday conversations and relationships we need to focus on? In order to find a better way for Indigenous people, they and non-Indigenous people need a relationships in which we walk together as citizens of this nation in a between world? 

I see this issue in very simple terms. I believe I’m not in a position to make decisions for Indigenous people and their future. Only the elders of each distinct Tribal Language Group have the authority to make decisions for their people and the land for which they are the custodians. That is their Lore, which they must follow. 

However, the government has now told me I must have a very small but significant say on the matter.

My thoughts and actions on the Voice Referendum are, of course, determined by the many informative conversations I’ve had with Indigenous people out here in the Goldfields and surrounding areas. Some of those people are practising Lore, are strongly connected with their culture and hold a level of authority to speak for their people. My manner of conversing with each or a group of them is simply: Ask a question, listen to the answer, then ask another question without making a judgement.

In this way, I’ve heard many Indigenous voices express opinions that have overwhelmingly told me the following – that they: 

• reject the whole manner in which this referendum has been conducted. 

• say tribal elders feel that the consultation did not occur.

• as the earlier statistics suggest, feel past actions by governments have struggled to improve the situation

• have no evidence that this change will benefit non-Indigenous people

• feel there isn’t enough detail on what is being changed in the Constitution

• are troubled many Indigenous people in their communities don’t understand what is happening, why, what the constitution actually is and does, and have no idea what changes it entails.

To conclude, here is a question to ponder.

How many assumptions, rather than proven facts, have been made in the process of this referendum?

Thank you for your time and attention. Vote as you see fit. Let us continue these important conversations in the spirit of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people walking together into the future.  

Drew Goddard.