Of course, all fair-minded and decent Australians want to see practical improvements to address Indigenous disadvantage. But those improvements will not be achieved by more bureaucracy; by symbolic gestures like the performative Acknowledgement of Country or continuing to use the Canadian-appropriated term ‘First Nations’ in an Australian context; or by acquiescing to activists whose objectives remain reparations and segregation under the guise of ‘treaty’ and ‘truth-telling’.

Real outcomes can only be achieved by getting the basics right. Crime free streets lead to safer communities. Safer communities lead to children going to school. Educated children lead to employable adults. Working adults lead to resources for one’s health and home ownership. And stable homes lead to better lives and better families.

We will also not improve the lives of disadvantaged Indigenous Australians until our country stops romanticising traditional culture.

Within that culture still exists outdated patriarchal beliefs that are still prevalent in many Indigenous communities.

Today, there are Indigenous men who still see women as inferior, who treat women as possessions, and who believe that beating a woman is acceptable behaviour.

The 2nd anniversary of the Voice referendum is a time to speak up with courage and conviction if we are to address Indigenous disadvantage. It’s also a time to reinforce our rejection of division based on race.

The path ahead must be one of unity where we celebrate the achievement of modern Australia which exists thanks to our Indigenous heritage, British inheritance and migrant contributions.

And may we always live by Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s words, ‘In Australia, there is no hierarchy of descent; there must be no privilege of origin.’