“By all means, blame us. But give us a say in the decisions that are made about us before you do. This is the message of the Voice. By having a voice, we will be responsible for closing the gap. We will be as responsible as the government for the results. With power will come responsibility.

“This is a critical insight for those concerned with Aboriginal policy at the highest levels and at the grassroots in claiming the right to self-determination. We are claiming the right to take responsibility.” He added that when things go wrong the Voice offers a great cop out opportunity for politicians who can say to Indigenous people, “Don’t blame us, it was your idea”.

I suspect Anthony Albanese has worked this out but doubt it has even occurred to Peter Dutton and the rest of the ‘No’ brigade. [Editor’s note: I searched without success for a transcript of Pearson’s address. This report from The Guardian was the most comprehensive coverage I could find – KJ]

RECENT NOTES WELCOMES YOUR WORDS

Thanks to Phil Fitzpatrick for his piece and for initiating something my addled mind had overlooked. Yes, your contributions to Recent Notes are welcome, around 200 words being the most desirable length (the foregoing from Phil is 199). That said, anything within the range of 100-300 is acceptable. At 400, except for submissions of great importance or transcending literary gems, the editorial scythe will be applied. If you’ve provided a synopsis, do include links to the original article. And feel free to suggest further reading if it’s available.

DIVISIONS BESET BOUGAINVILLE AS IT PLANS ITS FUTURE

Launching Bougainville Vision 2052, president Ishmael Toroama predicted that by 2052 the province will be “a high income, educated, healthy and peaceful sovereign nation.” He challenged Bougainvilleans “to question themselves as to what kind of society they wanted an independent Bougainville to look like, adding that his government has already begun the process of nation-building through “numerous economic and development endeavours”.

With a bit more than a nod to divisions within the Bougainville polity and elite, Toroama implored that “we have no time to waste arguing amongst ourselves and working against the greater vision of this government. I urge you all put aside your differences and work towards our common goal and that is the independence of Bougainville.”

MARAPE APPLAUDS STRONGER BOND WITH USA

PNG Business News reports that PM James Marape “warmly embraces” the establishment of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) office in PNG. It comes just 48 years after independence and China can be thanked for it. It also comes with a sweetener of $US7.4 million (K25.2 million). Marape asked USAID to ensure the assistance aligns with the medium term development plan. Of course, as we know, all of PNG’s own spending does this.

Most of the aid will be used to fund disaster management activities with much smaller amounts for “the pressing challenge of severe and acute malnutrition” (K4 million), a solar mini-grid in Central Province (K4 million) and oxygen and laboratory ecosystems to bolster Covid surveillance (K3.4 million). "Today marks yet another monumental chapter in the flourishing USA-PNG alliance, characterised by the resounding announcements,” said Marape. "This development encapsulates the dynamic progression of the relationship between the US and PNG. This bodes exceedingly well for the collaborative journey of our two nations." Precisely.