16/09/2023
This is a post on the Voice to the Commonwealth (Cth) Parliament, the subject of the Referendum on 14 October. I post this to try to address the misinformation & plain factually wrong information out there in the community.
The Referendum is for all Australians to vote on whether we alter the Cth Constitution to recognise & enable the establishment of a new Cth body called the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Voice.
It is not legally risky as it has no power to make or change Australian laws.
What the alteration does is enable a first step I.e. the first requested reform in the Uluru Statement of the Heart: enshrining in the Constitution, the basic human right for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people's across Australia to make representations to the Cth Parliament on matters that affect their lives (Voice).
It will be a body no different to other Cth bodies already established to make representations to the Cth Parliament on matters relevant in their specific areas E.g the Cth Ombudsman, the Australian Law Reform Commission & the Auditor General in Australia.
It is not true that no detail has been provided on how members of the Cth Voice would be chosen or how it would operate. That detail has long been in the public domain in the Indigenous Voice Co- Design Report July 2021 co-authored by Professor Tom Calma AO & Professor Dr Marcia Langton AO.
That Report outlines an Indigenous Voice made up of 2 Parts. Part 1=Local & Regional. Part 2= National.
That Report was the end product of extensive community consultation & majority endorsement of past & current governments as guiding the structure & operations of the Indigenous Voice.
States & Territories have already started their own processes for implementing the Uluru Statement of the Heart eg Victoria.
This Referendum is to enable the Cth to start it's Part of its processes.
The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Voice) Act 2023 passed after majority votes in the Senate & House of Representatives authorises the Referendum & the wording of the alteration to the Constitution.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to change the mess of over 6 & 1/2 decades of politicians, changes of government, funding changes & political interference resulting in all previous attempts by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people's to set up such a body not succeeding.
The politics have ensured the failures not the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people's. For this reason, there needs be a permanent change to the Constitution to enable this body & ensure it will not disappear with changes in party politics.
The wording alteration to the Constitution is simple for good reason. The detail can only come later via further community consultations & legislation.
This is just how democratic processes work.
It is complex but we must work with what we have.
I share with this post a wonderful Australian Association of Social Workers podcast of a webinar by Professor Tom Calma AO "Walk with us to a better future: The Indigenous Voice to Parliament & the Road Ahead". He takes us through the history & why the Voice. He is clear & factual.
Link: https://omny.fm/shows/aasw-social-work-people/walk-with-us-to-a-better-future
Please listen, like & share. 🙏
Professor Tom Calma AO is one of Australia’s most respected human rights and social justice campaigners. He is Senior Australian of the Year 2023, and he is a social work graduate. Prof Calma AO is a- Kungarakan Elder and has worked for more than 45 years at local, community, state and internation...
