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Landmark Decision: Australians to Vote on Indigenous ‘Voice’ to Parliament in Historic Referendum

(CTN News) – On October 14, Australians are set to participate in a referendum aimed at incorporating a provision into the country’s constitution.

This provision would establish a framework for Indigenous individuals to offer guidance to the parliament regarding policies that have an impact on their lives.

Proponents argue that the integration of the ‘Voice to Parliament’ within the constitution would not only acknowledge the unique significance of Indigenous people in Australia’s history but also grant them a platform to contribute their insights to governmental decision-making processes.

Critics contend that such a move could potentially create divisions among Australians based on racial lines, all while not effectively addressing the significant inequalities that Indigenous people continue to experience.

These are some of the fundamental considerations underlying the upcoming referendum, which marks the first of its kind in a generation.

Australia’s Indigenous Heritage: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders

Australia’s Indigenous population encompasses both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who maintain distinct cultural identities.

For over 60,000 years, Indigenous communities inhabited Australia before the British colonization in 1788.

The settlers established a colony in what they deemed an “empty” land, resulting in the dispossession of Indigenous territories, the loss of countless lives due to violence and disease, and enduring consequences.

Currently exceeding 800,000 individuals, Indigenous people constitute approximately 3.8 percent of the 2021 population, yet they remain the most marginalized segment of the society.

Tragically, Indigenous Australians experience an average life expectancy approximately eight years lower than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Additionally, they face alarmingly higher rates of suicide, domestic violence, and incarceration.

Between 1910 and the 1970s, around one-third of Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into white culture—an era known as the ‘Stolen Generation’.

In 2008, the government issued an official apology for this period of profound suffering and injustice.

What is the ‘Voice’ Proposal?

On the day of the referendum, Australian citizens of legal age will be presented with a pivotal choice: to vote either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in response to a single question:

“A Proposed Law: to amend the Constitution in recognition of the First Peoples of Australia through the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you support this proposed amendment?”

Should the answer be “yes,” the constitution would be modified to stipulate that this Voice holds the capacity to “present views” to both the Parliament and the executive government on matters concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Advocates stress that this alteration does not grant Indigenous communities the authority to veto governmental policies; elected officials would remain empowered to disregard the perspectives presented by the Voice.

Nevertheless, critics posit that the legal scope of the Voice’s constitutional powers could be interpreted variably by the courts, potentially introducing legal ambiguity.

Proponents assert that the Voice would encompass Indigenous individuals from all eight states and territories, as well as the Torres Strait Islands, spanning remote and regional areas.

Selection of members would be carried out by local Indigenous communities, and their terms would be stipulated for a fixed duration.

The constitution would further clarify that the Parliament possesses the authority to legislate pertaining to the composition, functions, powers, and procedures of the Voice.

What’s the Origin of the Concept?

Australia began including Indigenous individuals in its census data following a constitutional amendment in 1967.

The notion of the Voice emerged in 2017 from a gathering of 250 Indigenous leaders convened at Uluru, a culturally significant sandstone monolith in central Australia.

Prompted by the government, this group was tasked with advising on how to acknowledge the Indigenous population within the constitution.

However, the conservative government of the time rejected the proposal, expressing concerns that the Voice might be perceived as an additional parliamentary chamber.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party, upon winning elections the previous year, pledged to establish the Voice as a fundamental issue.

What Are the Arguments For and Against the Voice?

Albanese has made the referendum a centerpiece of his agenda, asserting that it could help ameliorate long-standing disparities faced by Indigenous communities.

Backing the referendum are the left-leaning Greens party, various independent legislators, multiple welfare organizations, as well as national religious and ethno-religious groups.

Nonetheless, opposition exists on both sides of the political spectrum.

Independent Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe parted ways with the Greens due to reservations about the Voice proposition. She advocates for a treaty between the government and Indigenous people prior to such an alteration, akin to arrangements in New Zealand and Canada.

The conservative Liberal Party and the rural-oriented National Party remain steadfast against the idea, urging Australians to vote against it.

The Australian Electoral Commission has begun distributing informational pamphlets penned by lawmakers that present the arguments for both “yes” and “no” votes.

Moreover, the Voice could serve as an initial stride toward Indigenous claims for repatriation and compensation.

How Does Australia Amend Its Constitution?

Constitutional amendments in Australia have historically been challenging, with over 80% of referendums failing.

For a constitutional change through a referendum, a “double majority” is required—support from a majority of Australians nationwide along with approval from a majority of voters in the majority of states.

Five referendums have floundered because, while they garnered majority support among Australians, they failed to secure majorities in at least four out of the six states. Voting is obligatory.

Of the 44 referendums conducted since the constitution’s enactment in 1901, merely eight have succeeded, and none have been successful since 1977.

How Do Other Former British Colonies Approach Their Indigenous Communities?

Indigenous peoples in other former British colonies confront marginalization, though some countries have made strides in safeguarding their rights.

Canada recognizes the rights of its Indigenous population under the Constitution Act 1982.

New Zealand’s 1840 Treaty of Waitangi pledges to protect Maori culture. The country has also established Maori seats in parliament, allowing Indigenous individuals to vote for representatives in these seats or participate in general elections.

Te reo Maori, the Maori language, is recognized as an official language and is employed in educational institutions, universities, and public offices.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

Google

Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

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Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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2024 | Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

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Washington — Trump Media,  The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal from social media platform X about a search warrant acquired by prosecutors in the election meddling case against former President Donald Trump.

The justices did not explain their rationale, and there were no recorded dissents.

The firm, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims a nondisclosure order that prevented it from informing Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

The business also claims Trump should have had an opportunity to exercise executive privilege. If not reined in, the government may employ similar tactics to intercept additional privileged communications, their lawyers contended.

trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

Two neutral electronic privacy groups also joined in, urging the high court to hear the case on First Amendment grounds.

Prosecutors, however, claim that the corporation never shown that Trump utilized the account for official purposes, therefore executive privilege is not a problem. A lower court also determined that informing Trump could have compromised the current probe.

trump

Trump utilized his Twitter account in the weeks preceding up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to spread false assertions about the election, which prosecutors claim were intended to create doubt in the democratic process.

The indictment describes how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely claiming that the Capitol crowd, which battered police officers and destroyed glass, was peaceful.

musk trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

That case is now moving forward following the Supreme Court’s verdict in July, which granted Trump full immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

The warrant arrived at Twitter amid quick changes implemented by Musk, who bought the company in 2022 and has since cut off most of its workforce, including those dedicated to combating disinformation and hate speech.

He also welcomed back a vast list of previously banned users, including Trump, and endorsed him for the 2024 presidential election.

SOURCE | AP

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

Supreme Court

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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Could Last-Minute Surprises Derail Kamala Harris’ Campaign? “Nostradamus” Explains the US Poll.

Scientists Awarded MicroRNA The Nobel Prize in Medicine.

US Inflation will Comfort a Fed Focused on Labor Markets.

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