The Labor Australian Federal Government is promoting a referendum for the establishment of what it calls “The Voice”. This Voice if passed would be put into the constitution and is based on what is called the Uluru Statement. This document may be downloaded at https://antar.org.au/resources/uluru-statement-of-the-heart/.

Personally, I am against recognizing this Voice and especially having such enshrined in the Australian Constitution. My reasons for opposing this are as follows.

The first paragraph of the Uluru Statements says; “Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its  adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than  60,000 years ago.”

Now, if one accepts the theory of evolution this would probably be acceptable. However, for those who believe the Bible to be the Word of the Creator then it is not acceptable. Dr. Diane Eager says;

“The estimate that the earth is somewhere around six thousand years old comes from a combination of Biblical and secular history, but depends mostly on reading the early chapters of Genesis as real history. First of all you need to accept that six days means six real days as we know them now, and that means there is no vast period of millions of years before the appearance of man on the earth on Day 6, as Genesis records. If this is true, then the age of the earth corresponds with human history plus 5 days.

The Biblical text records that mankind’s history began with the creation of Adam and Eve and proceeded through the generations to Abraham as recorded in the genealogies (lines of descent) shown in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11. In both of these genealogies the length of each lifespan is given, along with the number of years each generation overlapped the succeeding generation. When you add these figures up, you do get a figure of just over 2,000 years from the Creation to the birth of Abraham.

You need to take into account the fact that only whole years are given, and therefore each generation time will be plus or minus one year, and so for 10 generations you could be up to 20 years out, and that is the best the data is able to tell us. However, because of the long lifespans there are only 20 generations involved so this error will not skew the numbers greatly, and since the error is plus or minus one, any such errors will probably balance one another out.

From Abraham to Jesus there are also genealogies listed, but they no longer provide precise lifespans for many of the named people, or lifespan overlaps. Therefore, for this period we need to cross reference Biblical historical characters and events with secular history. There have been numerous attempts at this, but most come up with estimates of not much more than 2,000 years.

Now add to this the time from Jesus to the present, which is well documented as just over 2,000 years to this year of AD 2012, and, like most people who have tried it, you too will get an answer of around 6,000 years for creation to the present.” https://askjohnmackay.com/earths-age-where-does-the-age-for-the-earth-of-around-6000-years-come-from/

In the same article Daniel Durston writes;

“Over the centuries there have been numerous calculations by those who choose to use God’s Word as the starting point for their world view. In his thorough work, Dr Floyd Jones in Chronology of the Old Testament mentions over 30 chronologists and their attempt to find a biblical age of the earth. (Jones, Chronology, p66) From these 30 or so results, the youngest age for the earth was 5848 years and the oldest was 7513 years. The difference sometimes depending on whether they used the Septuagint or the Masoretic text.

Amongst these well known chronologists was Archbishop James Ussher, an often mocked but nonetheless brilliant 17th century theologian, ancient historian and Hebrew scholar with an expertise on Semitic languages. Ussher dated the Earth at around 6,000 years old by first establishing when King Nebuchadnezzar lived, then working his way backwards through the genealogies Ussher came up with the creation date of 4004 BC.

Independently, Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), who formulated the laws of planetary motion, calculated a creation date of 3992 BC. Similarly one of the most famous scientists of all time, Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727) who is lesser known for his deep interest and respect for the Bible, came up with a ‘chronology of antiquity’. Newton wrote much about biblical history and vigorously defended a creation date of about 4,000 BC. He also often attributed his scientific findings to his biblical worldview.”

Biblically the aboriginals have not been here in Australia 60,000 years! Well, someone will say religion has NOTHING to do with this issue. Well, that is not really true. The Uluru Statement says in its second paragraph that: “This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our  ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.”

Now, there are two points to be made concerning this paragraph. One is the word “spiritual” and the other is the word “co-exists”. The word “spiritual” and the statement concerning being united with their ancestors one day indicates there is religious aspect involved here. Many secularists would tell Christians that religion has no place in politics and yet this Government is promoting this statement and pushing to have it put into the Australian Constitution. This present government is basically promoting paganism!

As to the aboriginal people’s “sovereignty” and their co-existing “with the sovereignty of the Crown” seems to indicate two nations rather than one nation! This view of two nation was accepted when the Aboriginal flag was given equal status with the Australian flag. Then they speak of “truth telling”. There is no historical truth to the fact that the aboriginal people ever had a flag or flags for each tribe before the 20th century https://www.pmc.gov.au/publications/australian-flags-booklet/part-3-other-official-flags-australia/flags-australias. Accepting another flag to fly alongside the national flag was the beginning of two nations on one land. This only promotes division!

The rest of the Uluru Statements says:

“How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history  in merely the last two hundred years?

With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.

Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

_{In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”}

More about the Makarrata Commission may be found at https://www.absolutely-australia.com.au/indigenous-australia/what-is-the-makarrata-commission/.

This issue will NOT be settled even if the referendum is passed. Why do I say that? Because “…the Makarrata Commission remains committed to the pursuit of meaningful dialogue with Aboriginal communities Australia-wide. It appears that in addition to making significant progress towards healing within Aboriginal communities, it is also creating pathways towards true reconciliation on a national scale. The scope of Makarrata’s work is broad – investigating injustices suffered while finding practical solutions to remedy them – but its purpose is single-minded: to bring peace and healing to all Australians.” https://www.absolutely-australia.com.au/indigenous-australia/what-is-the-makarrata-commission/

This PURSUIT, PATHWAYS and INVESTIGATIONS OF INJUSTICES will NEVER, NEVER cease if The Voice referendum is passed this year or any other year for this push for division will sadly never cease.

_{Sadly, the answer is NOT more division caused by this VOICE but a recognition that God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth; Acts 17:26.}