How do Indigenous people vote?

I’m looking forward to seeing John Howard attempt the extremely difficult pronunciation of the five-lettered word S.O.R.R.Y. just to gain that extra vote from Family First in the Senate.

To top it off our brightest and only Federal politician, Aden Ridgeway, was unsuccessful in his attempt to hold onto his NSW Senate seat for the Australian Democrats. Aden was quoted as saying the Australian Democrats have lost the middle ground of an increasingly polarised electorate.

Where once Indigenous voters were expected to vote for the Australian Labour Party we now have success and failure of Indigenous representation from a whole host of political parties across the country.

In Queensland alone two Indigenous men became politicians: Neville Bonner (1971) a Liberal Party Senator and Eric Deeral (1974) a National Party Member for Cook. Both members of the Federal and State parliaments respectively were fiercely proud Indigenous men with a conservative leaning. At the other end of the continuum today, Indigenous females like Territory Labor, Marion Scrymgour, Member for Arafura, Minister for Family and Community, the Environment and Heritage and ALP Linda Burney, State Member for Canterbury in Sydney attempt to address the multitude of concerns raised to them by their mainstream constituents.

There are many other politicians around the country who identify as being of Indigenous descent, predominantly to the left of politics.

Unfortunately most Indigenous candidates who stood for public office in the last election, representing such diverse parties as the Greens, Democrats, Social Alliance, Your Voice, Liberals, NT Country Liberal Party as well as the Independents have conceded defeat. The exception appears to be the Family First leader and candidate Andrea Mason who is still in with a slight chance of being elected as a Senator for South Australia. I eagerly await the outcome of the final count of ballot papers.

Today there is a strange anomaly where Indigenous households, unheard of a generation ago, are blessed with choices deriving from dual incomes. These families’ are more focused on the interest rates that will impact on their monthly mortgage than concerning themselves, like many Indigenous families, on whether to pay the growing list of bills or to buy a large grocery order. The new “middle class murries” now also have the luxury of choice on whether to upgrade to the latest vehicle with all the modern accessories and (or) entertain the choice of public or private school education for their children. That’s not to say these “middle class murries” have turned their backs on those less fortunate members of their race in struggle towns and suburbs throughout the nation. Most are still very passionate about righting the wrongs of their people.

However these hard working breadwinners are also consumers and will take the time to assess their particular circumstance when it comes to casting their vote. Who’s to say they sold out their people by not voting along the traditional lines of their parents? Are they coconuts (black on the outside and white in the middle) or “uptowners”? It appears obvious that Indigenous voters from the Cape York communities cast their vote in significant numbers for the coalition as a protest against the Beattie government's alcohol management plans that they view as prohibition. Those northern traditional voters do not fall into the category of “middle class murries”.

So what of the future for Indigenous voters?

One thing you can bet your house on for the next parliamentary term is that it will deliver a major widening of the gap between the haves and have nots. It will also provide a windfall for the rising middle class Indigenous professionals. The gap between those “middle class murries” and their “brothers” and “sisters” in the less desirable parts of town will be more pronounced than the mainstream divide.

Will that mean a change to the old voting pattern to correct the inequality?

It’s a bit like the Tasmanian loggers who traditionally voted for Labour - sadly when circumstances change so will voting patterns irrespective of profession or ethnicity.