Kia Orana! My husband and I left Cook Islands just yesterday (Tuesday) after a 10-day vacation on Rarotonga. The weather was not kind during our stay but the friendliness of the local people more than made up for that, on this our fifth visit.

The only jarring note was the ghastly article you featured in Tuesday’s edition. The unfolding October 14 referendum process has been a terrible time for all Australians. The interviewee’s comments in your article were horrific and hateful. Not only that, they demonstrated a profound ignorance of Australia, Australian history and Australian culture. In truth, I was surprised to see such vitriol in print.

I do hope that you will print a balancing article. Surely you could not ignore the views of people like Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Nyunggai Warren Mundine.

Many Aboriginal people claim that they were never consulted about “The Voice”, and they don’t want it. It is not about recognising Aboriginal people as is claimed. Our Prime Minister has spent something in the region of $360 million to convince voters to vote yes (Editor’s note: AAP Fact Check: What was claimed – Labor has used $360m of taxpayer money to fund the ‘yes’ vote. Verdict – False. The money has been set aside for running the referendum and providing a neutral education campaign) Absolutely no funding was provided to provide an alternative view. Already Australia spends $100 million a day on the Aboriginal population (Editor’s note:AAP Fact Check: What was claimed – Australian governments spend around $39.5 billion a year on direct support for Indigenous people. Verdict – Misleading. The figure includes a share of general government expenditure on things like defence, foreign aid and border control). But layers of bureaucracy plus greed and corruption within the thousands of organisations supposedly devoted to Aboriginal welfare means that it does nothing to help where it is most needed. 80 per cent of our Aboriginal population are fully integrated into Australian society. The remaining 20 per cent often go to great lengths to make themselves heard but to no avail. Playing on our collective guilt to vote yes, and then embedding even more layers of bureaucracy – not to mention costly and unending legal battles – will do nothing to improve the lives of our indigenous brothers and sisters.

Jeanette Ball, Australia

Pacific Island Forum secretary general Henry Puna put it very well when he said “a yes vote would have positive ramifications for the nation”. It would indeed “be wonderful to see Australia vote yes … it will elevate Australia’s position and maybe even credibility in the international stage. But it is a democratic choice that has to be made by Australian citizens and we respect that all the way.” (The Fiji Times, 20 October 2023).

Conversely if the yes vote fails it would damage Australia’s international standing and credibility notwithstanding the “democratic choice” made by Australian citizens. It would expose Australia as still a backward country that is not prepared to give its First Nations people their just due over 200 years after the colonial invasion and takeover of the country and the dispossession and marginalisation of the Aboriginal people. The referendum is a solid chance to repair the damage done by our colonial history. I hope the chance is not squandered. That would be a crying shame.

Rajend Naidu, Sydney