Earlier Seniors Card Access Based on Ethnicity in VIC

I would argue that equality is synonymous with fairness. When people demand equality, I think ultimately what they want is to be treated fairly, and I think Australians, by and large, are huge supporters of this. We often talk about the concept of a ‘fair go’, “Fair go mate, let the others have a turn!”. It’s in our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, although, some have argued that this use has an ulterior meaning. “Fair go? Why the national anthem is racist. The ‘fair’, as originally composed in 1878, is almost certainly a play on words. A racist play on words.” Referring to the additional meaning of the word to mean “lightness in colour of skin or hair”. “Political advocacy for a White Australia”. Anyway, you get the idea. That said, I still think modern Aussies pride themselves on being fair and reasonable. If Aussies see something that is obviously unfair, well, we call it out. So for the Victorian Aboriginal Treaty to be successful, it must be fair. If any component is seen by the general public as treating some individuals better than others, then it will be destined to fail, and I saw one instance of this in a recent article by the ABC.

“New Victorian public holiday celebrating Aboriginal culture to be proposed in treaty negotiations”. Noting that there are already many days of significance observed by Aboriginal Australians: Invasion Day, National Close the Gap Day, National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, Children’s Day, Indigenous Literacy Day, just to name a few.

The current treaty negotiations are calling for a public holiday celebrating Aboriginal culture. Now, I think from a fairness point of view that would be fine if everyone is included in the public holiday. I’m sure every Victorian would love to have another public holiday, as long as they don’t have plans to scrap Australia Day in the process. That would cause a lot of conflict rather than solve anything. Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly, Ngarra Murray (apologies if I’m pronouncing her name wrong), said, “A day that’s all about inclusivity, so being able to celebrate all together as a community.” Sounds fine I think.

However, there’s one other proposal the article mentions: “The assembly will also propose earlier access to seniors cards for Aboriginal elders, who on average have lower life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians.” And this is where we cross the line of fairness. Should only one group of society be entitled to earlier senior card access? I know it’s only a small thing, but from little things big things grow. If we start saying that certain people are entitled to more than the rest of us, things get messy very quickly. Resentment grows. And if the point is that Aboriginal elders have a lower average life expectancy, and therefore deserving of earlier senior card access, could we not legitimately ask, “Who else in society has lower life expectancy?” I’ll tell you who, men. According to the Victorian Department of Health, “Life expectancy in Victoria is 84.9 years for females, and 80.7 years for males”, four years younger. Should all men be entitled to four-years earlier access to seniors cards? Couldn’t we also argue that not every Aboriginal elder dies early, some go on to live very long lives, but yet they will still be entitled to earlier senior’s card access despite their longevity?

Look, I’m all for equality, if equality equates to fairness. But the moment fairness is discarded, and instead one’s cultural or ancestral identity determines what one is entitled to, then I will never support such a proposal, and I think many Australians would agree. An all inclusive public holiday to celebrate Aboriginal culture, fine, but giving Aboriginal people more benefits than the rest of us, as we saw with the Voice to Parliament, just ain’t going to work.

MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn