Born in 2023

If you were born in 2023, Australia held a referendum on The Voice — a constitutionally enshrined body to advise parliament on matters affecting Indigenous Australians, proposed by the Albanese government as the first step of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The campaign was long and contentious, and on October 14th the referendum failed — 60 per cent voted No, across every state. It was a painful result for those who had campaigned for it, and the interpretations were numerous: too rushed, too complicated, too much uncertainty about what it would do, the No campaign effective in amplifying doubts.

The failure to advance reconciliation after so many years of effort was felt deeply by many. Anthony Albanese continued to govern on cost of living pressures that were biting hard — interest rates at a twelve-year high, rents in Sydney and Melbourne rising at 15-20 per cent annually, grocery prices causing real hardship for many families. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour announced Australian dates for February 2024 and the country went into a state of collective anticipation not seen since the Beatles.

The AFL Grand Final between Collingwood and Brisbane was one of the great matches of the modern era, Collingwood winning by two points. Ash Barty had retired. Novak Djokovic was allowed back to Australia.

The flat white was $6. The coast was still beautiful.