Although the elephant has yet to be captured, experts now widely agree upon the existence of the colossal animal. The elephant is also thought to lie at the heart of a multitude of problems that have been impacting Australia over the last two centuries and it appears that the older the elephant grows, the stronger it becomes.
Some of the problems that stem from the elephants presence include environmental degradation, deep fractures within Australia’s society, high suicide rates, racial intolerance, the lack of moral judgement by successive governments, the stolen generation, disproportionate Indigenous imprisonment rates and massacres of Indigenous people. The list goes on and on. The more time you spend studying this elephant the more negative affects you will discover.
If you haven’t realised already, I am referring to the ‘Elephant in the room’ that is the reason why we all just can’t get along. The elephant goes by several names or labels. Treaty is one name, sovereignty is another. Basically, the elephant in the room is the lack of any agreement between Indigenous and non Indigenous people in Australia.
In business or in relationships one thing always rings true: If you want to do something well, you have to get things right from the start. That is not what happened in Australia!
Now, I can already hear people saying, ‘well we can’t go back to 1788 and start over’ which is obvious but the agreements that should have been made in 1788 can still be made today. This isn’t something that needs to be debated or put to a referendum either, this is something that should be legislated by the United Nations. History knows that Australia is Aboriginal land. Even Australia’s high court declared that the concept of Terra Nullius was a lie and that judgement in 1992, The Mabo Case, has left Australia’s claim to be a legitimate country in limbo ever since. Australia may appear to be legitimate in the eyes of the western world but in the eyes of Indigenous people it is nothing more than an oppressive outlaw settler state. A state that is responsible for mass killings, incarceration, the stolen generations and a range of racist policies that are imposed for the detriment of Indigenous people, our culture and our land. In fact if discontent grows to new extremes that we begin to pursue Independence, the western world would soon find out (via international courts) that Australia is indeed an illegitimate nation.
I can still hear people saying ‘why can’t we all just get along?’ (please go back to paragraph 3, line 4). Someone just repeated ‘we can’t go back to 1788’ (ok, let me say it again). Australia has no agreement between Indigenous and non Indigenous people and the agreement is a must have in order to legitimise the nation of Australia in the eyes of the people who have lived here in excess of 60,000 years which will in turn heal the rift in today’s society and allow us to move forward (together) for the very first time as a nation.
This unified nation would look very different from the one that we live in today. You see, the agreement process (or negotiations) would be a re-construction of Australia’s constitution. There would obviously be more power to protect our land from mining, as well as the protection of our languages and culture. Australia day would be moved to the day of unification (tba), a new flag would be created, as well as a new anthem. The new power from Indigenous society (Indigenous Rights) would also help instill moral judgement into the way the country is run from the city to the bush. This is in everyone’s interest as the current government is literally driving the country into the ground.
I think I heard someone say ‘the constitution cannot be changed’ (Please go back to paragraph 5, line 4). Let me also remind you that your options are very limited. Trying to kill us off or breeding us out are no longer options that you can get away with and the current strategy of ignoring the elephant simply leaves the country at a stalemate.
I have not included any images within this article as I want the words to really sink in. I am not someone trying to cause a stir or looking for attention. My ultimate hope right here is to create a turning point in our history that puts us on a new track to a sustainable future.
Will you help my hopes become reality?
– Just Another Blackfulla
