Paul Kelly Lends His Voice For Yes

Three weeks after Aussie rockers GANGgajang revealed that they were saying Yes to The Voice campaign, Paul Kelly has also issued a social media statement on why he’s voting yes.

If the referendum is successful, The Voice will be an independent and permanent advisory body led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who will advise the Australian Parliament and Governments on issues that directly face their communities.

The Voice body will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with the wishes of their communities represented.

Kelly’s statement is titled “Why I’m Voting Yes”. “This country is my home. This beautiful country, unique in all the world,” Kelly began. “Our First Australians looked after it and shaped it for over 60,000 years and, in doing so, developed a rich and complex culture that is a gift to us all.”

The Dumb Things singer continued to cite the First Nations culture embedded in sport, music, art, dance, philosophical teachings and environmental knowledge. Kelly then called it “a huge hole in our soul” that First Nations people haven’t been recognised in our founding document.

“Recognition is not achieved with fine-sounding words and feel-good statements but by promising to listen,” Kelly wrote. “There is a huge and stubborn gap in health, education and opportunities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.” He went on to call the gap “unfair” and that it “diminishes us all”.

Kelly continued, “By saying Yes to a voice and listening to it, we can tackle these problems in a more effective way. And fairness cuts both ways. Having a voice gives people responsibility as well as agency. Being involved in decisions that impact your life brings with it accountability for the outcomes.”

While Kelly understands that there are many points of view – “Some say that a Yes vote will divide us” – he believes that the Voice referendum “is an invitation to join together and that saying yes will make us a more complete nation.”

He concluded the post by writing, “No leaves us nowhere, Yes breathes in new air”.

“This video features paintings from the 'Deserts' series by Geoffrey Stapleton as the backdrop to our song Speak To Me,” GANGgajang wrote in a statement about their new single, Speak To Me. “We say Yes to the Voice from the heart, and soul, of Australia. To a Voice calling all of us to a better future.”

Speak To Me is likely one of the best, most essential tracks GANGgajang have ever released, and one the entire country needs to hear. Led by William Barton’s didgeridoo, bass and electric guitars and a singalong vocal, Speak To Me is ready for radio and to lead the Yes campaign.