Times

Wet Tropic

What is affecting regional/rural Australia?

SARI RUSSO NEE HYYTINEN

THERE are a lot of items affecting our regional/ rural areas in Australia now that are significant for our future. One of the major issues being reported on is the youth crime that has significantly affected regional areas across Australia.

It is positive that Westpac Bank has put on hold the closing of the rural premises they announced previously due to now being involved in a Federal Senate Inquiry. I look forward to the outcome, as I am sure many rural people are watching to see how the Federal government will represent its rural constituents.

I will admit that I do not advocate for the voice as the Federal government currently portrays it. Particularly when it hasn’t been drafted, and we are expected to sign a blank cheque for a government that hasn’t looked after regional/rural areas properly for decades. As far as I can see, regional Indigenous communities have not been consulted on what the voice will do to benefit them.

As far as I can tell, the voice is part of a significant problem that exists across the entirety of Australia. People who live in cities and have never lived in regional areas believe they know how to look after our environment and people better than we do.

I am unsure how many people follow Avi Yemini, who recently went to Alice Springs to talk to the Indigenous community to see whether the city Indigenous represents them. The answer from the people on the ground in Alice Springs interviewed by Avi Yemini was a resounding no. They had never heard of Senator Lidia Thorpe or Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians.

Who is going to benefit from the voice? How will all Australians, not just a few Indigenous living in the city, benefit from the voice?