The Voice of the People

Commenting on the federal Government’s slowness to provide funding for the arts industry crippled by the pandemic with thousands of job losses, Chris Endrey comments, “The sad conclusion is one that lies at the end of too many questions – Australia is either not interested in nor capable of valuing its own voice, its own cultures”. How deeply it resonates to see the word “voice” used to express this idea: the Voice of our Indigenous nations and cultures at the heart of the Uluru Statement – now more than three years since announcement – or, indeed, the voice of the people expressed in a self-created, self-governing Republic. See also News Item of 11 May 2020. [“Our fight for legitimacy carries on” by Chris Endrey, The Canberra Times print and online, 27 June 2020]