Key points
- Voice to Parliament is a demand for an Indigenous advisory body to guide the federal Parliament on matters relating to First Nations People.
- Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for three key reforms, of which a Voice to Parliament is the first.
- The authors of the Uluru Statement have suggested May 2023 or January 2024 as likely dates for a referendum to be held.
What is the Voice to Parliament?
In 2017, a representative group of Australia’s First Nations People gathered at Uluru, and presented the people of Australia with .
The Uluru Statement proposes three fundamental elements of reform: Voice, Makarrata (a Yolngu word for ) and
The first reform is a Voice to Parliament, which necessitates a Constitutional amendment.
That means, it requires a referendum so that the proposal can be put before the Australian people to decide.
It is a combination of a decades-long process of the Australian legal and political system and the Australian people working towards Constitutional recognition of the First Nations People.
What does it mean to Australians?
A referendum would ask Australians to approve a new provision that enables the federal Parliament to create an advisory body that will be known as the Voice to Parliament.
Australia’s Constitution, which came into effect on 1 January 1901, does not recognise the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ prior occupation and custodianship of their land.
Simply put, a Voice to Parliament is the recognition of these very ancient polities that lived on the continent for 60,000 years, their voice and role in Australian democracy through the Australian Constitution.
Uluru Dialogue co-chair and international human rights lawyer from the University of New South Wales, Professor Megan Jane Davis said it is also about recognising the Australian people and the continent as a “fuller expression of the nation,” enabling the country to “move forward” for the first time in its history.
“It is part of a number of reforms the Uluru Statement from the Heart has called for in terms of change needed to empower our people and that includes a Makarrata Commission which is an agreement making or a treaty commission,” she said.
“Recognising the First Nations voice enables our people to be at the table when laws and policies are made about our lives.”
Where are we?
After his acknowledgement of country, began his election night victory speech by declaring, “on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement From the Heart in full”.
On the statement, Prof Davis said, “It is a sense of relief and achievement but still has a long way to go”.
“We are excited, Australia very rarely changes its Constitution. And for our people, we never had the opportunity for any kind of constitutional power. So, this is a very significant thing. It is different from the 1967 referendum, as this reform is going to empower our people,” she noted.
In terms of the Uluru Declaration, there is now a commitment for a referendum, which is the first component of the statement and the new federal government is laying the groundwork for that.
Next steps
There are important steps before an Indigenous Voice can be enshrined in the Constitution.
Being constitutionally protected, the Voice will be sustained and durable well beyond political timetables.
It means that Indigenous empowerment and active participation in the democratic life of the nation are not dependent on the political party in power.
The previous Coalition government intended to legislate the Voice but had no plans to enshrine it in the Constitution and if the Voice were to be legislated, it could be annulled.
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But once it is in the Constitution, it can only be reversed through another referendum.
This would require political support and further consultations before any ballot.
If the federal Parliament passes a Bill, a referendum must be held within six months to create a permanent Indigenous advisory body for the federal Parliament.
The authors of the Uluru Statement have suggested May 2023 or January 2024 as for a referendum to be held.