Welcome to Country or else, page-62

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    Australia, thankfully, is NOT a signatory to UNDRIP.
    Prime Minister John Howard near the end of his tenure foresaw the potential problem in the possible consequences of the clause "The right of indigenous peoples to self determination", and wasn't going to have a bar of it.

    He feared it would lead to something fundamentally contrary to Australia's unique egalitarian ethos, that being that we are all equal under the Law, with no special privileges granted to anyone. Prime Minister Bob Hawke also understood the Australian character by stating there should be no special rights based on one's ancestry.

    Fast forward to October 2023, and the thumping 'No' to the Voice referendum vindicated the acumen of both former Australian leaders. For we now know that the Voice - as with the Acknowledgement of/Welcome to Country - was an essential element in the push for a separate sovereignty. It's all there in the Uluru Statement.

    For those who've forgotten:
    'No' to the Voice of Division got 60%.
    'Yes' to the Voice of Division got 40%.
 
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