- The Guardian
- Issue #2073
For the last 4 months since launching a week of action in July, the CPA has actively campaigned for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People’s Voice to Parliament.
At its meeting in January the Central Committee, responding to the announcement of the referendum ‘came out proudly in favour of a YES vote in the upcoming referendum on a Voice to parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’.
At the time, Andrew Irving, CPA General Secretary said “The referendum question presents us with an opportunity for historical change, for Australia to enshrine a First Nations Voice. The answer must be YES!”.
We also recognised that at the same time as supporting the Voice, land rights, real recognition, prosperity, and control over the affairs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will not be gifted or bestowed on them by Australia’s dominant capitalist class. The CPA knows that real change only happens through consistent and ongoing campaigning, struggle, and the solidarity with the people.
The CPA expresses disappointment that the Referendum didn’t get bipartisan support, making it a big challenge to obtain the required double majority.
In fact, the Coalition’s decision has divided public opinion and through the use of lies, misinformation and disinformation it has fuelled a very negative campaign full of expressions of racism and ugly comments spread particularly on social media. Some of those attacks have also aired through the mass media.
The CPA condemns in the strongest possible terms the public attacks on the YES campaign by negatively using the name of the Communist Party of Australia as aired on the print, news channels and social platforms.
The Communist Party of Australia has been active at every major campaign for Aboriginal Justice for the last 100 years. We list: the Day of Mourning (150 years of white rule), the strike struggles in the Pilbara, the Walk off of Wave Hill (from ‘Little things big things grow’), the Tent Embassy, the bicentennial March, Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Black Lives Matter and many more.
The CPA was the first political party in Australia to fight for Aboriginal land and human rights. This clearly demonstrates that the CPA cannot be compared to or associated with the abhorrent ideology of Nazism which is racist, antisemitic, dictatorial and violent.
The CPA is strongly committed to the struggle of Indigenous Australians for recognition, truth telling, treaty and land rights regardless of the outcome of the Referendum. We look forward to a brighter day after the Referendum, a day of opportunity and against the status quo.
The CPA calls on all its members and supporters to vote and write YES in the Saturday 14th October Referendum.
Communist Party of Australia
Enlarged Central Committee
Sunday 1st October 2023
