Despite the obvious differences between the far more post-colonial nature of the politics of multiculturalism and the still way more colonially enmeshed nature of the politics around the Indigenous Voice to Parliament (VtP) proposal, there are some interesting structural similarities between the various political struggles that did (in the case of multiculturalism) or are now (in the case of the VtP) materialising around the two issues.
a) Just as multicultural policy on the migrants' side was advocated and supported largely by state-recognised establishment figures (ie. 'ethnic leaders'), VtP is also, on the indigenous side, advocated and supported largely by state-recognised 'establishment' indigenous figures.
b) In the history of multiculturalism, there was nonetheless a divide between the White governmental supporters of multiculturalism who saw multiculturalism as a kind of nice donation by a now enlightened white state, and the ethnic leaders who saw multiculturalism as the result of a hard struggle by ethnic people that wrested ethnic recognition from the jaws of a white state. Likewise with VtP, there is a divide between those in government who are making VtP as some kind of white donation and a signal of white goodness, and those indigenous leaders that see it, if successfully implemented, as the end line of a long indigenous struggle against the White state.
c) The conservative White opposition to multiculturalism did not see multiculturalism as an attempt to bring to an end a long history of marginalisation and racism towards immigrants/ethnics. This conservative opposition saw multiculturalism itself as introducing differentiation on the basis of ethnicity into a supposedly colour blind Australian institution (go figure). In their eyes it was multiculturalism itself that was racist. Likewise, the conservative white opposition to VtP do not see VtP as an attempt to bring to an end a long history of colonial racism and lack of recognition of First Nation's rights. This conservative opposition sees VtP as itself introducing a differentiation on the basis of race into a supposedly a-racial Australian constitution (again: go figure). It is VtP itself that is racist.
d) The politics of multicultural policy also brought to the fore a sharp divide between the institutionalised ethnic leaderships and organisations and the more militant ethnic/immigrant groups of activists who saw that multiculturalism was more a route for an integration of ethnic leaders into a White mainstream political life and less of a tool that can right any structural racism towards immigrants in a satisfactory and permanent manner. Likewise the politics of VtP has brought to the fore a sharp divide between the established indigenous leadership that supports VtP and those indigenous activists and academics who see VtP as unable to bring about any change to the colonial structure that underlies the social, cultural, economic, environmental and legal injustices that are still perpetrated against indigenous people in Australia (in the way a treaty would for example).
e) Those opposed to multiculturalism were themselves divided between one group that saw multiculturalism as 'not enough', but who nonetheless saw it as a gain as far as the struggle for justice and equity was concerned, and another group that saw multiculturalism as not simply providing insufficient justice but as a strategy to avoid ever taking a path towards justice. A similar divide exists between those indigenous militants who see VtP as a 'step,' even if an incomplete and insufficient step, towards justice, that should be accepted despite its problems, and those who see VtP as a strategy to avoid ever engaging in a genuine righting of colonial injustice.
f) What followed from the above as far as multiculturalism was concerned is that the first group that saw multiculturalism as insufficient, saw some common ground between themselves and the ethnic leaders and groups that advocated it. For the groups that saw multiculturalism as a total waste of time, those who advocated it were simply conservatives and traitors to the struggle against racism. A similar pattern is also emerging in relation to VtP with the group that sees VtP as 'not enough but a step' seeing some commonality between them and the leadership advocating it, while those who see VtP as a waste of time seeing the leadership advocating it as a bunch of misguided and/or corrupted people that have been co-opted by the state.
