Life after the Failed Voice

The proposition of this article is that it is time to re-think Aboriginal self-determination. A process should be allowed to develop that is perhaps less grandiose than the failed Voice, which was rejected in October 2023, but more practical and reflective of Aboriginal social, linguistic, and cultural organisation. A process of self-determination that starts at the bottom and then, if necessary, works its way to the state and federal levels. The post-Voice world of Australia is uncertain. The rejection by public referendum of the Aboriginal Voice has left a void that will take a long time to fill. It is contended in the article that life after the Voice is best to be found by empowerment of local Aboriginal communities; by encouraging hundreds of local voices; by enabling those voices to become a keystone for local community affairs; and for those local Aboriginal voices to cooperate as advocates at the state and federal levels. It is suggested that a bottom-up, rather than a top-down model, would be consistent with Aboriginal social and cultural organisation, and ultimately would endow greater credibility and legitimacy for Aboriginal self-determination initiatives

Credibility · Empowerment · Epistemology · Legitimacy · Political science · Politics · Proposition · Public relations · Referendum · Sociology · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law