The Voice to Parliament Question Has Been Announced - Here's Everything You Need to Know

Last week, the Albanese government revealed its proposed constitutional amendment and referendum question that will ask Australians to recognise a First Nations Voice in parliament.

Just yesterday, South Australia passed the bill creating the Voice in state parliament, which Premier Peter Malinauskas hopes will bring about positive change ‘over years and decades to come’.

If this is your first time hearing about this or aren’t completely sure what it’s all about – keep reading.

We’ll explain what the ‘Voice’ is, the arguments that are ‘for’ and ‘against’ the Voice, and what a referendum involves.

What is the ‘Voice to Parliament’?

A Voice to Parliament – according to Reconciliation Australia – will ‘give Indigenous communities a route to help inform policy and legal decisions that impact their lives.’

Reconciliation Australia states that embedding a First Nations Voice in the constitution would "recognise the special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia’s history’ and that ‘it can’t be shut down by successive governments."

You may have seen this ad recently by ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’, who proposed the Voice six years ago.

In recognising First Nations people in the constitution, the body would be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, who can ‘make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’.

The Uluru Statement’s design principles of the Voice state that the body will include youth and be a ‘gender-balanced’.

The body are chosen by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ‘based on the wishes of local communities’, and will be ‘empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful and culturally informed’.

The Voice will not have a program delivery function (i.e. would not manage money or deliver services) and will not have a veto power.

Discussion surrounding the Voice.

There are quite a few different takes on whether the Voice to parliament will be effective or not.

At last week’s press conference, Anthony Albanese stood with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders saying, “I do feel a weight of responsibility. It is a risk, having a referendum. They usually don’t succeed. If you were just about positioning on politics as usual, I might not do this. But the people here can’t wait.”

Indigenous leader Professor Marcia Langton says that, “we know from the evidence that what improves people’s lives is when they get a say. And that’s what this is about.”

It’s important to note that South Australia now has a state-based Voice, which is separate to the Voice being part of the constitution.

Those against a Voice to parliament have various concerns, such as its effectiveness and impact, and whether this body will accurately reflect the voice of all First Nations people.

At this year’s Invasion Day rally in Sydney, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe stated, “we are sovereign and this is our land, and we deserve better than an advisory body… We have an opportunity to have a treaty … that could put 10 independent Blak seats in the parliament today. We want real power and we won’t settle for anything less.”

Stan Grant - Vice Chancellor’s Chair of Australian/Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University – wrote an article for the ABC saying that many of his own people told him they don’t understand the voice, and don’t know who to trust.

‘[Wiradjuri people] want to know if the Voice will protect these things. Will the Voice lead to treaty? What about our sovereignty?’ says Grant.

The Conversation writer Kelly Menzel explained that it was impossible for the Uluru Statement from the Heart to represent more than ‘250 First Nation groups in Australia’.

She stated that ‘Indigenous people need safe spaces to lead discussions to address the diversity of First Nations perspectives in the Voice debate,’ and that ‘these discussions could enable the creation of more accessible materials regarding the Voice design.’

The upcoming referendum.

The upcoming referendum will ask all Australians this ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question:

A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?

The Guardian reports that this vote is likely to happen between October and December this year.

For the vote to be successful, it requires a majority of votes in a majority of states (otherwise known as a ‘double majority’).

We will keep you up-to-date with more information regarding the referendum throughout the year.