Letters and short takes, Saturday October 7

I didn't meet or speak to an Aboriginal person until I was in my late 20s and we became friends.

Through her I learnt many things, for she was one of the stolen generation. Through her I found that Australia wasn't such a squeaky clean country, and that my idyllic, naive childhood and adulthood were far different to what First Nations People experienced.

My parents were never concerned that their children would be taken from them by government agencies. We never experienced racist taunts, and we always had access to education and health facilities. We lived freely and without fear.

We acted like the towns, lakes, rivers, hills and mountains were ours. We felt we could do whatever we liked. But in the background there were people who were trampled on, people who were not regarded or treated as human beings with the same rights as "white" Australians. They happened to be the country's original owners.

Many have the notion that we live in a free country and that all are equal. My comment is to talk to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and get their opinion.

We should never assume anything, but always ask how life has been for them.

As an 83-year-old, I recognise that within my lifetime we continued massacres of our First Nations people, drove them from their lands into camps on the fringes of towns, and denied them an equal education, to name just some of the deprivations.

When the Uluru Statement from the Heart was released, I received it as a generous invitation from our land's original inhabitants, and could not conceive that it would be rejected by those of us who have been late-comers to this ancient land.

When "no" campaigner Warren Mundine told the National Press Club that the Uluru Statement from the Heart was a "symbolic declaration of war against modern Australia", and the Voice was a "political ploy to grab power", I thought he had read a different statement to the one I knew. And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, Warren Mundine shared a damaging post about retired boxer Anthony Mundine threatening to beat up "yes" campaigner Thomas Mayo, writing, "I want to see that!"

Tell me, which side of this debate is seeking to divide Australians?

It evens the balance a little to read that Warren Mundine's daughter, Garigarra Riley Mundine, has said that the opinions of her father "are at odds with how she was raised". She said "it hurts because I feel that the Uluru Statement came from a place of unity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people."

For me, voting "yes" is the only possible response to express my solidarity with the many mature-aged Aboriginal women whom I taught to become teachers, giving them a second chance at the educational opportunities they missed in their youth.

Regarding "Bank charges hit pensioners" (Letters, 3/10), Frank Ward is correct, but it's not just pensioners who are affected.

There is an answer: use the post office. They offer banking services, withdrawals and deposits for most banks, ANZ excluded. The bigger question is why do banks and the federal government (both parties) want a cashless society? From the banks' point of view, when we live in a cashless society they can charge what they like in transaction fees, meaning bigger profits and bonuses. As for the government, well one can guess they would love the control it would give them.

More and more shops, cafes, and restaurants are insisting on card only. If you see "No cash accepted" signs in the window, boycott them. The government needs to insist that cash is legal tender and must be accepted. On many things over the past three years, federal governments have abrogated their responsibility to big business.

Who runs this country: big business or the government?

In response to the referendum on the Voice, or indeed any significant decision, I think a good tool to use is Edward de Bono's PMI. Sit down with three sheets of paper, and a timer. With equal time to each, first write down all the positives (P for "plus") about "the proposal"; secondly the negatives (M for "minus"); thirdly anything "interesting" about it. Then compare. Have fun.

Tony Morley ("Too much music is never enough", Letters, 5/10), maybe young people have figured out that our generation's music was the best, and they just can't be bothered listening to current drivel?

Like many on the "yes" side of this referendum, George Marshall ("Information is at hand", Letters, 6/10) relies on blind faith. I have read the Uluru Statement and the 270-page report that accompanies it. My point is that all the reports have never been accepted nor endorsed officially or otherwise, so they remain as conjecture. We have no indication yet what the Voice will look like or what powers it will have.

I can't understand why anybody would object to an Indigenous advisory Voice to Parliament. They were here first. White Australia invaded, took their land, decimated their culture and even removed their children. We owe it to the first Australians to at least give them a voice. We are supposed to be a Christian nation, so a little compassion and consideration is called for. An ancient carpenter once said "In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you". The first Australians deserve our respect and support.

Mick Porter ("Thumbs-up for daylight saving", Letters, 4/10), do we need to move the clocks forward to start work an hour earlier?

The "yes" vote theme song, going by its so-called celebrity endorsers, should be Yesterday's Hero. By the way, who's Ray Martin? Is he the other half of Ashley and Martin? Going by the fake hair I might be right.

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