The World Briefly

February 27, 2023

The Voice

Australia

Listen to Today's Edition

Australians will decide whether to give Indigenous people a voice in parliament in a landmark referendum that observers believe will face a number of hurdles before the vote later this year, the Guardian reported.

The October plebiscite will see voters choose whether they support the enshrinement of an advisory group on issues related to Indigenous people into the constitution.

Known as “the voice,” it would consist of a group of elected Indigenous representatives who will advise Australian lawmakers and government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The issues would likely include jobs, health and housing.

The council would function at the local, regional, and national levels, with the goal of improving policies and life outcomes for Indigenous people.

The upcoming referendum follows years of campaigning by Indigenous groups for recognition in the country’s constitution. Supporters explained that the voice is part of a series of reforms aimed at resolving Australia’s “unfinished business” with its First Nations.

It would be followed by treaty-making and truth-telling – the three elements key to the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, a document written and endorsed by hundreds of Aboriginal leaders to amend the constitution to improve the representation of Australia’s Indigenous people.

While previous conservative leaders opposed a constitutional amendment, the new Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to implement all three following last year’s parliamentary win.

Still, political analysts noted that there is opposition to “the voice” across the political spectrum: Right-wing politicians called the voice discriminatory because it provides “special rights” to Indigenous people, adding that it will not deliver practical outcomes.

Meanwhile, left-wing groups and some Indigenous people want the treaty first and a guarantee that any constitutional change will not erode their sovereignty.

Recent polls show that 80 percent of Indigenous people and 60 percent of all Australians support the voice as well as religious leaders and every state and territory leader.

However, questions remain about how successful the referendum will be in a country where only eight out of 44 referendums have delivered change since 1901 when Australia became a federation.

Indigenous people represent around three percent of the population and defeat could potentially set the struggle for Aboriginal rights back decades, analysts noted.

This story originally appeared in the February 27, 2023 newsletter, Man and Country.