Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Last weekend, I went to the Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land. 'Garma' means 'two-way learning'. It's become a place where Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders come together to discuss big issues in a context and style set by Indigenous Australians rather than through our imported institutions. It's a visceral reminder that listening involves more than taking turns speaking. It involves being open to thinking differently. The 13 clans of the Yolngu have been working together, using diplomacy and negotiation, for thousands of generations. Yolngu woman Mayatili Marika spoke powerfully of Garma as the essence of reconciliation: 'Like the mixing of saltwater and freshwater, there are always differences when they meet, but the waters can become clear if we take the time to wait for the stillness.'

There is wisdom in this nuanced and open approach to difference that makes the politics around the Voice look very crude. It's easy to get caught up in the pointscoring, the polling and the public discourse that frames the referendum like a sporting event, with a winning side and a losing side. But at Garma I was reminded that the Voice is about pausing to listen, to question our assumptions and to correct our long-term direction. As a country, we are really bad at policy that addresses the effects of colonisation and, when you're bad at something, you seek advice. It is that simple.

See this speech in context