The Australian Constitution was written by old English-centric men in a different time without thought for the way our country would change to its modern multicultural format. The failure to acknowledge First Nations people may not have been deliberate, but still had serious ramifications for the original owners and has created the devastating outcome that has brought us to the current situation with a referendum. Australians will demonstrate their true colours in this upcoming vote. I fear the real racism that pervades Australia will emerge and prove we are not the tolerant people we claim to be. Many people I meet are intensely opposed to a 'yes' vote without considering those for whom it was designed. Those who claim altering the Constitution will open the way for political scandal use this to justify the racism I witness every day. My question to them of how many Aboriginal people they have ever met is always received with perceived shock that I should ask such a question.
I plead for the decency and integrity that has always been shown to migrants in our country. Somehow this attitude does not encompass Aboriginal people in the minds of many Australians. I am extremely sad for the many readers of this paper who live on expensive real estate once the home of First Nations people and who have the temerity to encourage a 'no' vote.
