It's just not cricket.

Recent events have shone a spotlight on playing within the spirit of the game, evoking concepts of fairness and respect. Perhaps we should apply these principles as we approach the Voice referendum.

There’s been a lot of talk this week about ‘the spirit of the game’ in the context of Australia defeating England in the second cricket test match at the home of cricket, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). A somewhat controversial dismissal - which was clearly within the rules - has sparked a mini diplomatic row, with the Prime Ministers from both countries drawn into the controversy. Titus O’Reily wrote about what an imaginary MCC member would make of the cricket shenanigans - ‘We didn’t conquer most of the globe by allowing the other side to fight fair.’ After all, what the Australians did was ‘just not cricket’.

Let’s take a look at what the Laws of Cricket say about the spirit of cricket:

• Respect is central to the Spirit of Cricket.

• Respect your captain, team-mates, opponents and the authority of the umpires.

• Create a positive atmosphere by your own conduct, and encourage others to do likewise.

• Play hard and play fair.

Respect and fairness. It got me thinking more broadly about what we mean by these common phrases like ‘it’s just not cricket’ and ‘it’s not in the spirit of the game.’ They certainly evoke a sense of fairness that we Australians pride ourselves on. After all, we are a nation that claims to be built on the foundations of a fair go, as indeed the Australian Department of Home Affairs defines a series of Australian values, including:

• a ‘fair go’ for all that embraces:

  • mutual respect;

  • tolerance;

  • compassion for those in need;

  • equality of opportunity for all;

Yet there is a fascinating juxtaposition, as we sit here in the middle of NAIDOC week, between the discussion abroad about playing within the spirit of the game and upholding principles of fairness and equality, and the manner in which the Voice referendum is being debated in the public sphere back home.

Respect is clearly lacking in much of the online debate. But also our sense of fairness in thinking about what the Voice is intended to achieve. It is instructive to go back and read the Uluru Statement from the Heart:

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future. These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness. We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish.

The Voice referendum is about fairness and respect. It is about ensuring that First Nations people are recognised in the Constitution so that they can take a rightful place in their own country, and the Voice will ensure that First Nations voices help shape policies that impact on them. Fairness and respect. Simple but powerful concepts.