Archive for March, 2023
The Voice: A Proposal to amend the Australian Constitution
Sunday, March 5th, 2023
The Australian Government proposes to hold a referendum in late 2023 to amend the Australian Constitution to provide for the establishment of a “Voice to the Parliament” to advise on matters affecting First Nations people.
IN early March 2023, the Government announced $9.5m would be spent on upgrading the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice website, including providing information in 30 languages; “developing a more comprehensive information program on the facts of the voice proposal and relevant civics information”; and “paid media placements for the voice information program to significantly expand reach across the broader community”.
The Voice will be an independent, representative advisory body for First Nations people. It will provide a permanent means to advise the Australian Parliament and Government on the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on matters that affect them.
A set of principles that describe how the Voice will work were agreed to by the First Nations Referendum Working Group.
The Voice is a body that will:
- provide independent advice to Parliament and Government
- be chosen by First Nations people based on the wishes of local communities
- be representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- be empowering, community led, inclusive, respectful, culturally informed and gender balanced, and include youth
- be accountable and transparent
- work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures.
The Voice will not have a program delivery function, or a veto power.
The structure and role of the Voice would be decided by Parliament through legislation, with members to be chosen by First Nations people.
The referendum is part of the Government’s commitment to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
Further information is available at Voice to Parliament and referendum.
I strongly support the proposal. My Statement on the Voice summarises the justification for the proposal and gives detail on the background to the proposal.
Considerable discussion and debate has surrounded the proposal; various interpretations and opinions have been given expressed. Amongst the most comprehensive is a statement by the Hon Robert French AC, former Chief Justice of the High Court, “The Voice — A Step Forward for Australian Nationhood” delivered to the NSW Bar Association and NSW Law Society at a symposium, “Exchanging Ideas” on 4 February 2023.
There are numerous statements by First Nations Leaders, including the 2022 Boyer Lectures by Noel Pearson.
The proposal for the Voice is a matter of social justice!