A Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous communities a route to help inform policy and legal decisions that impact their lives.
Giving First Nations People a say will lead to more effective results and embedding a Voice in the constitution will recognise the special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia’s history, and importantly will also mean that it can’t be shut down by successive governments.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has put forward a possible Referendum question: “Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?”, aiming to put the question to Australians in a referendum in the final months of 2023 and to set up a body to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice with the power to “make representations to parliament and the executive government” on matters relating to First Australians. His plan centres on an amendment to the constitution that would say: “The parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.”
An Indigenous Voice to Parliament would ensure Indigenous people were consulted on policies such as education, health and housing. It will not be a funding body. It will not run programs. It will simply be a source of advice to government.
Legal scholars say the Voice cannot extinguish sovereignty but a Treaty can. Uluru Dialogue Co-Chair Professor Megan Davis says Indigenous sovereignty co-exists with the Crown and sovereignty can’t be achieved through the Australian Constitution because the Constitution is an order that's imposed upon people, and First Nations People haven’t ceded sovereignty to that order. She says it would be a disaster for the Constitution to embed a fully-fledged model for the Voice because then any changes would also require a referendum. Polling on the yes or no question currently shows majority support in a majority of states – the threshold required for the referendum to succeed.
Information
The leading YES campaign organisation, From the Heart, officially launches a grassroots field campaign this month, coordinating organisations supporting an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, recruiting volunteers, door-knockers and grassroots groups with toolkits and resources . Also visit Reconciliation Australia
Viewpoints
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Voice would ensure Indigenous People were consulted on policies such as education, health and housing. “A Voice to Parliament will not be a funding body. It will not run programs. It will simply be a source of advice to government,” he said. “This is a chance for something positive to happen, to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in our nation’s birth certificate.
And I’m confident that Australians will take up that opportunity.”
Noel Pearson, Indigenous leader and a key architect of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, referring to the Oppositions call for ‘more details’, says details were a matter for parliament to determine after the Referendum on the Voice. “The Referendum is about the constitution. Legislation is for the parliament,” he explained.
“2023 was the most important year for Reconciliation since the arrival of the First Fleet...We’ve got to understand what is at stake – and that is the chance for Reconciliation,” he said. “And if the Referendum is kiboshed through game playing and a spoiling game by the Opposition, we will lose the opportunity forever.” Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has repeatedly called for more detail about the Voice, accusing the PM of being ‘very tricky’ for dead-batting questions about whether Labor might legislate the Voice in the event the Referendum to constitutionally entrench it fails.
He has also suggested legislating the Voice before the Referendum, which Albanese ruled out, and called for the release of a draft bill, at least, which experts advising the government warned risks confusing voters.
Leader of the Opposition of Australia Mr Dutton says voters will be asked ‘one question’ in the Referendum not ‘two separate questions’ about constitutional recognition and the Voice and has accused Labor of “trying to give moral cover to the Voice through constitutional recognition”, labeling that a ‘cheap political trick’.
The Federal Greens have expressed broad support for the Voice, while seeking to progress Treaty and Truth processes with the Federal Labor Government.
Prominent critics, including Warren Mundine and Senator Jacinta Price, plan to visit every state for community events against the Referendum. Lidia Thorpe, former Victorian Greens’ Senator, has described the proposed Voice to Parliament as a ‘waste’.
The Australian Electoral Commission is preparing a major public education campaign around voting processes, warning of misinformation and a ‘huge knowledge gap’ among Australians who have never voted in a Referendum.
Website: https://www.ppcfr.org