Letters to the editor, The Daily Advertiser, May 9

Once the Voice referendum is passed the Federal ALP machine should gear up for a plebiscite on whether Australia should appoint its own head of state.

It will take time but an Australian republic will eventually arrive and we will choose a president to move on down Australia's road to national independence.

I believe that the decision to combine the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples issue with the proposed Voice issue is wrong.

I see them as two separate matters and the referendum should reflect this by making the constitutional issue a yes/no choice and the Voice issue a separate yes/no selection.

By combining them, people like me who will probably register a "no" vote for the Voice, will finish up saying "no" to the constitutional issue as well, something I do not want to do.

I firmly believe that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be recognised as full Australian citizens, and this must be stated as such in our country's constitution. However, with regards to the Voice, giving one group in our society a stronger and more influential voice in Parliament than others, is unfair at the very least and certainly undemocratic.

It is sure to lead to a divisive and resentful community and a whole lot of other "minority" groups seeking the same advantage.

We all currently have a voice in Parliament now and this is done through our local federal, state and territory members of Parliament.

If the argument for the Voice is strong, it should be able to stand on its own at the referendum and not be included with the important constitutional matter.

I have no doubt that many Australians will feel the same as me on reading the referendum wording.

Please lobby your local federal member to present this perspective to Parliament and attempt to separate the two issues.

There is an old saying: 'Deal with the Albury City Council, they roll out the red carpet'. 'Deal with the Wagga City Council, they roll out the red tape'.

READ MORE LETTERS:

The big spend on the Tassie stadium is another knock for grassroots AFL.

The AFL needs to be part of making the grassroots game viable and valued and invested in.

The clubs like Corowa-Rutherglen, unable to field a team this year, need support to keep the interest of young players and attract players.

The Corowa club, rooms condemned because of recent floods, should be helped by the AFL to rebuild the rooms.

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