A desire to understand the practicalities behind a voice to parliament was among the top concerns in Ballarat as Pat Dodson held his first Victorian regional forum since the launch of the yes campaign.
The special envoy for reconciliation and implementation of the Uluru statement from the heart was speaking with local Adnyamathanha man and digital artist Shu Brown to answer voters questions ahead of the constitutional referendum.
“You’re not being asked to vote on details,” Dodson told the audience, which appeared largely supportive of change.
“Parliament deals with details. There’s nothing unusual about that. There will be a process engaging with the Aboriginal people to deal with the details.
“The parliament will determine the powers, functions, purposes of the voice so it will be subject to the parliamentary normal processes.”
Speaking later to Guardian Australia, the senator said regional and rural communities appeared more concerned about the intricacies of the voice than the principle behind it.
“What you’re finding in regional communities is that distinction between details and principle,” he said.
“People who live in the regions are far more practical. They want to know how things work. Whereas we’re talking about a principle here, which is significant because it’s about the constitution. In a moral sense and an ethical sense, is this a good thing for us to do?”
Hundreds of locals filled the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute to hear Dodson speak.
Among the attenders was Prof Patrice Braun from Federation University in Ballarat. She told Guardian Australia she was interested in hearing the pros and cons of the debate, even though she felt an overwhelming sense of support through the room.
“We need to be informed no matter what we think we know,” she said.
Another local, Kim Williams, who proudly affirmed herself a yes voter, said a successful referendum would be a long overdue “first step”.
“We haven’t done the right thing historically and [the Uluru statement] wasn’t endorsed when it was first offered,” she said. “But that notion to walk with us – it’s long overdue.”
One audience member said the people of Ballarat owed it to the Aboriginal people to support the Uluru statement and the voice in the constitution.
“Ballarat was blessed with the discovery of gold and blessed with democracy,” he said.
“When gold came, obviously that displaced a number of Aboriginal people right across the central goldfields from their homes. So we really should be responsible for recognising the Aboriginal people where we have been so lucky to have the development of the beautiful city we have today.”
The referendum, set to take place later this year, has become a contentious issue among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and across the political spectrum. Senator Dodsonsaid there were complexities involved, but these would be worked through accordingly.
“When people want detail, it’s not always as easy as finding the right spanner to fit the nut,” he said.
“The details in these things are complex. They take a bit of time to go through, and the best practices that go towards giving real meaning to the details have got to be worked through, and that’s what the government is committed to doing post-referendum.
“This is about whether we have a belief. Whether we have a desire. Whether we have a sense of generosity to see and place in our constitution a set of words that recognises the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of this country. Now surely we can’t deny that any longer.”
Ballarat’s Liz Hardiman used the example of the successful 2017 marriage plebiscite to back Dodson, reminding the audience “there wasn’t a lot of discussion around the detail” during that debate.
“We were voting on principle,” Hardiman said. “The referendum is not about voting for the detail, it’s about voting for the principle. And for that reason it’s pretty clear to me personally what I’ll be voting.”
The crowd gave Dodson a standing ovation.
“I think the level of interest in Ballarat has indicated to me that people in the regions are really wanting to do the right thing and they want information,” Dodson said. “If they get that, they will do the right thing and they will vote positively for this referendum.”
