91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's Graham Matthews spoke with Richard Frankland, founder and lead Senate candidate for Your Voice, a new Indigenous-based political organisation contesting the Senate in Victoria in the federal election. Your Voice boasts former Democrats Senator Sid Spindler and journalist Geoff McMullen as patrons. Frankland's running mate will be Stingers star Peter Phelps.
"I'm an Indigenous Australian and some people would say that when you're an Indigenous Australian you're political from the time that you are born because of the environment that you grew up in", Frankland said. "I founded Your Voice because the Howard regime had attacked Indigenous Australia for the final and I would say lethal time, when they proposed to abolish ATSIC [the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission]."
According to Frankland, "ATSIC was a venue of political dialogue between black and white ... where Indigenous people could feel safe and in some control. Now, the situation is abominable."
Combined with the health statistics for the Aboriginal community, "the fact that Indigenous people die 20 years earlier than other Australians, which is the worst of any Western country, the fact that Indigenous children are three to five times more likely to die than non-Indigenous children, the homeless situation, the lack of land justice, and a whole host of other issues, there was truly a need for a voice for Indigenous Australians", Frankland explained.
"Our political principles are to rehumanise what has been dehumanised by governments. I see no difference between Labor and the Coalition. We still see a lot of people ending up voiceless and ending up powerless."
The Your Voice campaign is intended to "address the identity crisis that we see in Australia; that is that the 500 Indigenous nations and tribes need to be recognised both within the constitution and within the identity of Australia", Frankland argued. The aims of the new party are to establish an Australian bill of rights and a truth, justice and reconciliation commission and "to try to instigate some effective change of policy. If we continue to live with a nursery version of history, we will end up with a people who cannot grapple with today's happenings."
The Your Voice campaign aims to "have proper resources put into Indigenous health, a cessation to the closure of Aboriginal legal services, and to foster ongoing dialogue with regard to the future of Indigenous Australia. We want [the major political parties] to put that on the table", Frankland explained. "The other thing is to make sure that all people in Australia have adequate access to equity and justice."
Frankland noted that Your Voice is finding very broad support across the community, including from "people from their late teens right up into their late 60s" who have a "passion for the vision of the first independent Indigenous member of parliament in Australia ever".
"This is 2004 and we have never had an Indigenous independent member of parliament ever", Frankland continued. His election to the Senate would "make a statement to all those that oppose equity and justice for all Australians".
Frankland sees Your Voice's preference policy as a means to extract policy commitment to Indigenous Australians from other parties contesting the election. "We're negotiating with the ALP at the moment", he explained. "We're finding our policies are more in line with the Greens ... however if the ALP comes through with those things we mentioned earlier, we're swayed towards them.
"We're also looking towards other like-minded parties and individuals. We're not swayed anywhere at this stage except that we will be putting some groups before the major parties and everyone before the Coalition."
Frankland hopes that Your Voice will consolidate as a political movement following the federal election. "I want Your Voice candidates to stand in the state election and in the next federal election. I want it to become a watchdog watching other political parties, and if they're going to espouse self-determination for Indigenous people then they'd better practice what they preach."
Overwhelmingly, Frankland is optimistic about the prospects for progressive political change. "I'd like people to see this as a time of hope", he argued, calling for all Australians to "stand up and be dignified and strong in their sense of right and wrong. I want people to inject values of dignity, courage and compassion, integrity and identity into this election and into our politicians."
Frankland called on supporters to vote for whomever they wanted to in the House of Representatives and to vote for himself in the Senate. "Perhaps in doing that we'll be able to represent the true cultural tapestry that is representative of all Australians, not just the privileged few."
[For more information about Your Voice, visit .]
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, September 22, 2004.
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