The Voice FAQs | Wathaurong

First Nations Voice to Parliament & Indigenous Constitutional Recognition

"We need to understand it, before we can talk about it amongst ourselves and with others. We need to educate ourselves about what this means."
Community Member, Wathaurong AGM 2023

The Voice to Parliament and Indigenous Constitutional Recognition referendum has come about from the Uluru Statement From the Heart that was put out in 2017 after the National Constitutional Convention.

You can read the full Uluru Statement From the Heart here.

Following our 2021/2022 Annual General Meeting, Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative is sharing this information with our community about the upcoming 2023 referendum on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition and a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

The information is taken from sources that both support and question the proposed changes set out in the referendum. The First Nations Referendum Working Group are continuing to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The information included here is accurate at the time of writing but will change as the national conversation evolves.

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative is fortunate to have Voice information shared with us by Wathaurong Community Member and Director Aunty Wendy Brabham, who is a member of the national Referendum Engagement Group. The Referendum Engagement Group works with the Government to engage First Nations people and the broader community and provide insights on community understanding, awareness and support for the referendum.

A simple, easy to read information booklet about the Voice to Parliament can be downloaded by CLICKING HERE.

Some perspectives from First Nations people: Indigenous Voice to Parliament: What do Australia’s First Nations people think about the referendum?

WHAT IS THE PROPOSAL FOR INDIGENOUS CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION?

The proposal for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition will mean three things:

Formally recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first people in the Constitution
Having a permanent First Nations Voice to Parliament
A referendum that will include every Australian voting to make this change happen.

Following ongoing consultation with the First Nations Referendum Working Group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the following draft wording to be added to the Constitution on March 23rd 2023:

“In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers, and procedures.”

The government will introduce legislation with the question wording to parliament in late March and it will be voted on by the parliament in June.

ONGOING ADVOCACY FOR INDIGENOUS CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION

We, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, hold a unique status as the first peoples and sovereign owners of this land, having lived here for more than 65,000 years. Indigenous Constitutional Recognition is about finally recognising this in the national rulebook – the Australian Constitution.

Since colonisation, First Nations people have fought for our sovereignty, self-determination, Treaty, and rights. The ongoing activism and advocacy have included calls for Indigenous constitutional recognition, as the national rulebook was built on the erasure and exclusion of, and racism towards, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Amy McQuire, 2023). In Victoria, Yorta Yorta man William Cooper petitioned King George VI for representation in Parliament in 1937.

By 1965 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had achieved the right to vote in both federal and state elections. The historic 1967 referendum changed the Australian Constitution so that we were counted in the Census and gave the Commonwealth the ability to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Click here for more information on the history of constitutional recognition.

More recently in 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, issued to the Australian people, called for constitutional recognition through a Voice to Parliament, as well as a body to oversee Treaty / Agreement making and truth-telling processes. This was rejected by the Liberal government, and Labor party made a 2022 election commitment to fully implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Follow this link to hear the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Amy McQuire’s (2023) article explores the history of Blak activism between 2017 and 2023.

WHY A REFERENDUM FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION?

A referendum is a national vote that all Australians of voting age participate in – and a successful referendum is the only way the Australian Constitution can be changed.

The proposed referendum question, as announced on 23^rd March 2023 is

“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?"”

To achieve a successful referendum, the proposed change to the Constitution must be voted ‘Yes’ by a double majority. That is:

A majority of all voters from across the nation’s states and territories voting ‘Yes’; and
A majority of voters in a majority of the states voting ‘Yes’ (i.e., at least four out of six states)

WHAT IS THE FIRST NATIONS VOICE TO PARLIAMENT?

If the referendum is successful, a First Nations Voice to Parliament will be constitutionally enshrined, as part of Indigenous Constitutional Recognition. The Voice will be an independent representative body made up of Indigenous Australians and will directly advise the parliament on laws and policies that directly affect Indigenous people at the grassroots.

Being ‘constitutionally enshrined’ means that the Voice will be protected and permanent, no matter what government or leader is in power. The shape the Voice takes and the way it works will be decided by the Parliament and can change over time. The government will legislate the final details of the Voice, the parliament will then debate these details and enact the Voice.

The Voice aims to be both a symbolic and practical recognition of First Nations communities. Our people know, and can provide the best advice, on our communities' needs, priorities, and aspirations.

Frequently Asked Questions

“This nation is built on distrust, harm and colonial violence that continues to target and harm First Nations people, bodies, and souls. There are real reasons why First Nations people do not trust this process. I am for fair process and transparency… A debate on a voice cannot occur if Aboriginal people are being silenced; ironically the very thing the voice aims to contest. I believe it is critical we give all First Nations people a position to speak and share, while equally learning.”
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (2023

From the Heart: “Enshrining a First Nations Voice is recognition of First Nations’ sovereignty and First Nations’ rights based on their unique political and cultural existence. Sovereignty is not undermined nor diminished by Constitutional Recognition.”
Professor Megan Davis: "… the arrivals in 1788 didn't lead to a ceding of sovereignty, the passage of the Australian Constitution in 1901 didn't cede their sovereignty. First Nations people have their sovereignty, they are sovereign nation, we are sovereign people. No one can cede that sovereignty unless we do it ourselves."
Amy McQuire (2023): “We have never ceded our sovereignty and sovereignty will continue to exist regardless of how you define it, or regardless of any change to the Constitution... We can continue to raise sovereignty above any Voice, because in every community in this country, we are not just one voice, but many voices, from the babies to the elders, to the ancestors.”
Paul Karp (2023), Why a voice to parliament won’t affect First Nations sovereignty… The Guardian

Co-design report recommendations (2021) include that the Voice to Parliament should complement and amplify existing structures and not replace them. It was also recommended that there be Local and Regional Voices to inform the National Voice, as well as all levels of government, non-government sector and business.
Kelly Merkel (2022): “…the Voice is a serious point of discussion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We are not one group of peoples. Although we are interconnected, we have differing lore/law, histories, stories, needs, opinions (political and otherwise), thoughts and ideas. And it is still unclear how the Voice will be able to facilitate a harmonious voice for all of us. As such critical discourse, right-way is required to respectfully flesh out any concerns.”

Black People’s Union (2023): “We have always had a Voice. It just isn’t being listened to… The Voice is an advisory body and doesn’t guarantee any real change…”
Yes campaign (2023): “First Nations people have been calling for meaningful change for many years. This referendum is a step in the right direction… many First Nations people also want to see strong action and policy reform. This is a stepping stone on the path to justice.”
Professor Megan Davis (2023): “This is really substantive reform… What the Voice will involve is our people being brought to the table when laws and policies are made about our life. It's a very tactile, pragmatic reform that will empower our people to actively participate in the democratic decision-making of the state.”
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (2023): “There’s no guarantee at all that the parliament has to listen to or act on anything that this voice says. As First Nations people, we need action… A voice without actual power removes any accountability...”
Marcus Stewart (2023): “The reason we’re making such strong progress on the shared journey to treaty in Victoria is because we have a collective and democratic voice. A voice. A shared forum where all the opinions in our community can be heard and our people’s hopes, needs and aspirations can be distilled into a united position which we can fight for together… An ability to have a say on the issues that matter to us mob; a national voice to parliament to use as a building block to pursue truth-telling and negotiate treaty.”

Senator Lidia Thorpe (2022): “We’ve had hundreds of advisory bodies to government and they’ve not really done much at all… So, if we’re talking about having power and influence in this country, we need to be talking about treaty... Treaty can give us so much more than a constitutionally enshrined voice that has parliamentary supremacy over it.”

Teela Reid (2020): “We must ask ourselves: do we trust any Australian government to sign a treaty in good faith when it is under no obligation to hear us?... Treaties are inherently risky because they require a balancing of power between negotiating parties as well as ongoing executive and interpretation.”

Tony McAvoy, a member of the Referendum Working Group, outlined that the Voice will give independent advice to parliament and government, the members of the Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, not members of parliament, it will be gender balanced and include young Australians, and be accountable and transparent, work alongside existing organisations and will not have a veto power.

The current government have said that they will undertake further community consultation and will base the first model for the Voice on the co-design recommendations. The Voice will be a democratic, representative, and independent body.

Indigenous Voice Co-Design process: Final Report to the Australian Government, July 2021.

These recommendations for the Voice model include:

24 members with gender-balanced guaranteed, including two co-chairs of different genders, that serve a two-year term.
2 members from each state and one member from NT, ACT, and the Torres Strait Islands.
5 members representing remote areas (one each from NT, WA, SA, NSW, and Queensland).
1 member to represent members of Torres Strait Islands living on the mainland.
Members will serve four-year terms; with a limit of two consecutive terms.
As an advisory body, the Voice cannot veto any laws or policies; and the advice is not binding.
The Voice will not deliver services, or manage any funding, research, or mediate disputes.
The Voice can table formal advice in parliament but there can be no court challenges and no laws could be invalidated by this advice.

Black People’s Union (2023): “Self-determination and grassroots movements will be the only way we make change and get the justice we deserve.”
Amy McQuire (2023): “I would never vote against the idea of another black representative body, but I wonder, if it is to happen, how we use it to fight the ongoing fight? I say this knowing that the Constitution will never not be racist, just as Australia as it stands will never not be racist… It is the founding document of the colony. We know that the fight against racism only attracts white support when they do not have to concede too much, when the fight does not impede on their interests. I don’t think Constitutional Reform could ever be the balm to solve that, and yet potentially a Voice, could provide us with one weapon, if we can figure out the best way to use it.”

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admin@wathaurong.org.au

admin@wathaurong.org.au