Letters to the editor | Voice to Parliament splits reader opinion

They were entirely invisible except for Paragraph 127 which stated that "in reckoning the numbers of people of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted". Fortunately, this injustice was rectified in the 1967 Referendum.

It is abysmal that the founding document of our nation makes no mention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This shows a complete lack of respect for thousands of years of culture and tradition which preceded White European occupation.

I will join many other Australians in supporting a 'Yes' vote in the forthcoming referendum. This will be one small step for an Australian citizen and a giant leap for a people who are struggling to secure a more just and equitable future.

I will be voting No in the Voice to Parliament and before you think that I am racist, I am not.

The reason for my vote is that there are already a number of Indigenous politicians across all levels of Federal Parliament and they should be combined into the Voice committee.

There are also any number of Indigenous committees, reference groups etc across the country that could be utilised by the government for advice on aboriginal issues. Why re-invent the wheel?

The cost of the referendum and then financing this new committee has and will continue to cost the taxpayer many millions of dollars.

The makes of the Voice committee is already in place, use that layer of resource rather create another layer.

ROBERT Stonjek (The Examiner, August 8) argues that indigenous Australians already have a voice and yet there is still a life expectancy gap of eight years between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

Higher rates of chronic disease like heart disease and diabetes. Higher imprisonment rates.

How can we be a proud nation with facts like these? It cannot be argued successfully that successive governments have not failed indigenous communities. They have.

Constitutional recognition and The Voice to Parliament is about a chance to improve indigenous life expectancy, health outcomes and social and economic outcomes. Surely it is an opportunity that as a nation we must take in the interests of all Australians.

This crucial referendum is about trying to improve the lives of the oldest living culture on our planet. In the words of the Prime Minister, if not now. When?

I encourage people to grasp this moment in our country's history and talk to your family, friends and neighbours about making a difference and voting for a chance to improve the lives of your fellow Australian. It is that simple.

HAVING read the 26-page Uluru Statement, I question why Albanese only ever mentions the first page.

Since Fox News acquired the full 26-page document through the Freedom of Information act, why hasn't this document hit media outlets?

We, the people of Australia are entitled to have all the facts available for us so we can make a considered choice before we vote.

I feel that we are being completely hoodwinked with this referendum and I implore the media to make Sky News findings known to us all.

WITH Putin rattling the nuclear sabre I find it disappointing that so little was said in the media about the anniversary of the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki except for a thoughtful article by Barry Prismall (The Examiner, August 6).

An article about the possibility of an existential threat to life on earth from a chain reaction appeared in one paper and nothing else for the 78th anniversary of probably the most significant event in history.

We must never forget and hope that we can avoid any such thing in the future.