‘Vote Yes so that we thrive’: Voice to Parliament advocate Marcia Langton’s passionate plea to Australians

One of the leading advocates for the Yes campaign in the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum has revealed her concerns if it fails, explaining why she thinks Australians should vote in its favour.

Marcia Langton, who chaired the senior advisory group of the Voice Co-design project, addressed the National Press Club on Wednesday afternoon as she moved to sway the minds of Australians who may be considered “soft no’s” for the referendum.

With about a third of Australian voters believed to be undecided on the Voice according to recent polling, the Yes party are aiming to turn those numbers around in their favour after No took a majority lead in the latest Newspoll.

Ms Langton said the proposal is “not about giving some people a greater say than others based on their race” but rather one that “seeks to close the gap between politicians and government departments that make policy in local communities, whose experiences these policy makers largely do not share.”

“Let me assure you – all of us who have strived and struggled to get to this point keenly understand that this is our one chance and Australians should know that, too,” she said.

“I urge Australians who are as yet to make up their minds – don’t imagine that there’s another opportunity around the corner. Don’t think your No vote goes in a different pile marked ‘next time’. In this referendum, there are only two options.

“A Yes vote that delivers recognition through a Voice and all the hope and healing it represents – by adopting the Uluru Statement from the Heart’s invitation for us all to walk together in a movement of the Australian people for a better future. Or – a No vote, which binds us more closely, all of us, to a broken status quo. Another turn of the cycle of poverty and disadvantage and disempowerment.”

The Aboriginal activist pointed to notable gaps that remain between non-Indigenous Australians and Indigenous Australians as further reasoning to vote Yes.

Some of these include the almost ten-year difference in life expectancy, making up 32 per cent of the entire prison population of the country, unemployment rates three times worse and the high rate of infant fatalities.

“That gap is not closing fast enough, lives are at stake. A majority Yes vote is important for our children and future generations,” Ms Langton said.

“Why wouldn’t you vote Yes to give us a say in reaching parity in life expectancy for our children and future generations?

“We envisage a nation in which our legitimate leaders are able to give formal advice to the parliament and executive government to improve our lives. Would the Voice close the gap on the alarming array of disadvantages immediately? No but the national advisory committee and the regional committees would be able to recommend effective measures to more quickly close these gaps.

“This is because of the enormous issue of trust. A guaranteed Indigenous Voice will be able to rebuild the trust necessary to engage a substantial majority in pathways to better life outcomes.”

Ms Langton finished her address informing the proposal does not give the Voice more power than other advisory committees.

“Given that we are starting with severe handicaps, the acknowledgement and the Voice will give us a say to empower our people to become more engaged, just as we did during the pandemic, to reverse the gaps,” she said.

“Vote Yes so that we thrive, not just survive, as peoples.”