Ed,

Claire Lehmann (Aust 23-04-14) made the point that “Race Shifting” of non-Aboriginals claiming to be Aboriginal will become increasingly divisive.”

It also makes a mockery of The Voice.

Definitions:

Aboriginal People: “These are people of a place that have been there from the earliest known times, or that were there before people from other countries arrived.”

Indigenous People: “These are people inhabiting or existing in a land, from the earliest times, or from before the arrival of Colonists.”

So, what are Colonists?  Officially Colonists are “Australian Citizens” who have meet at least one of a set, of government criteria. If met, they can obtain an Australian Citizenship Certificate (ACC), which is like a birth certificate.

But if Colonists want to identify as being born in Aussieland, Indigenous is not available. After much searching the best option was “Native (a synonym of “indigenous) Australian” (Note: Native, has nothing to do with heritage.) You’re native to the country or place where you were born. (This could stir up some discussion.)

Mabo’s definition says:

“An Australian Aboriginal is a person of A-TSI descent, albeit mixed, who identifies themselves, as such and who is recognised by the Aboriginal community as Aboriginal”.

Without any debate (?) the Government has removed “is a person of Aboriginal descent albeit mixed”, and defined Aboriginal Australians as:  “People who are of A-TSI descent, OR identify as being of A-TSI origin, and are accepted as such in the communities in which they live or have lived” (1-2023).

This implies anybody can become an Aboriginal! This puts a whole different meaning as to who can be part of “The Voice” and hence have privileged access to the Government.

But even before this new definition came into effect, claiming to be an A-TSI apparently was easy. This has been confirmed using census figures from:

     2011             2016             2022      

Total Australian   21,507,800   23,400,000    25,978,900    20.8% increase.

Aboriginals              548,370         649,200         896,300    63.4% increase.

Unfortunately, this increase also reduces the government support for legitimate Aboriginals, because the billions supporting them is now being diluted.

Back to The Voice:  If it is put into effect, it requires that the Mabo definition of Aboriginal is adopted. There is some dispute about proving ancestry, but it appears that “Ancestry DNA tests use Autosomal DNA, will determine your ethnicity, going back 6 – 8 generations or 150-200 years”. Other, obvious proof of heritage could also be used, when deemed appropriate.

John Ibbotson, Native Australian

Lawrence