Australia Announces Historic Indigenous Referendum

Australia will hold a historic referendum at the end of the year to create an advisory group in the parliament that would be made up of representatives of indigenous peoples, but also by which indigenous Australians would be recognized for the first time in the country's Constitution, world media write.

'If not now, when?'

On Thursday, March 23, Australia took a step towards a historic referendum that would recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution and give them a voice on issues that affect their lives, according to Reuters.

In an emotional address, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented the question the Government wants to put to the referendum later this year, calling on Australians to support what he said was a long overdue vote.

First Nations Task Force member Marcia Langton speaks at a press conference at Parliament House in Camberra, March 23, 2023.

Australians will be asked the question in a referendum: "Proposed legislation: to amend the Constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve of the proposed amendment?".

An amendment to the Constitution would create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice consultative committee in parliament, which will provide non-binding advice on issues affecting First Nations people.

Aborigines, who make up about 3,2 percent of Australia's nearly 26 million people, are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution because they were marginalized by British colonial rulers. They did not have the right to vote until the 1960s, and they are still below the national average by many socioeconomic measures.

"If not now, when," asked Albanizi, who, as Reuters points out, invested considerable political capital in the referendum.

Doubts and opposition of the conservative opposition

The referendum on the constitutional amendment is expected to be held between October and December, according to the Associated Press.

Opinion polls show a majority of Australians support the Indigenous Voice concept, which Albanizi said during his election night victory speech last May would be a top priority for his centre-left Labor government.

However, according to AP, there are deep divisions in Australian society on this issue.

The leader of the opposition conservative Liberal Party, Peter Dutton, said his party had yet to decide whether to back Glas and demanded more details, including the government's legal advice.

Dutton questioned whether Glas would help Indigenous women and children who suffer far higher rates of domestic violence than the wider community. He suggested that Glas might even silence victims' voices.

The smaller opposition National Party, which has a stronghold in rural areas, said in November it was against Glas, saying it would divide the country along racial lines.

Australia is a rare country among former British colonies that has never signed a treaty with the indigenous population and in the Constitution of 1901 the original inhabitants of the country are not recognized as indigenous people.

The formation of the advisory Voice was originally proposed in 2017 by a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights advocates who are culturally different from mainland Australian Aboriginal people.

Attorney Megan Davis (Davies), who represents indigenous people, consulted with local communities for years to develop the Glas proposal. She called the decision on the referendum question a historic day.

"This Prime Minister, this Government listened with respect, sincerely, authentically," she added.

Albanizi said that "by all measures, there is a gap between the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the national average", pointing to a 10-year difference in life expectancy, double the suicide rate, tragic levels of child mortality and disease, as well as disproportionate representation in the prison population.

Divisions among the indigenous population as well

Constitutional referendums are quite rare in Australia and only eight out of 44 have been successful.

For the first change to Australia's constitution in almost 50 years, Albanizi said it was "very simple" but "significant", while the Voice is being hotly debated with support and opposition across the political spectrum, the BBC reports.

The landmark 2017 recommendation to create the Voice, compiled by more than 250 Indigenous leaders, said many of the problems affecting Indigenous Australians stem from a failure to consult Indigenous people for solutions.

On the other hand, critics argue that indigenous peoples are already represented in parliament - there are now 11 MPs representing indigenous people, which represents 4,8 percent of the parliamentary quorum and slightly more than a percent of Australia's indigenous population.

However, supporters of Glas point out that these MPs represent specific constituencies and not necessarily the interests of indigenous peoples.

Other critics say Glas could act as a third house of parliament and potentially veto the law, although the government has ruled that out.

Even among the natives, there is no unanimity when it comes to Glas, the BBC points out.

Some say a legally binding treaty with indigenous people should be a priority, as Australia is one of the few former British colonies that does not have one.

Many Indigenous Australians stress that they have never ceded their sovereignty or land and fear that recognition in the Constitution could lead to this. Others claim that it is a symbolic gesture and that the money could be better spent on more concrete solutions.

Details after the referendum

Despite the concerns of conservative critics, Albanizi and his government have accepted the advice of their internal working group of indigenous leaders to retain the power of the Voice to advise the executive branch, including the government and public services, writes The Guardian.

The law will be presented to parliament next Thursday and sent to a parliamentary committee for consideration.

Albanizi, however, said that there are no circumstances in which his government would abandon the plan to hold a referendum in the last three months of this year.

The specific details of Glas, such as how many members it will have and how they will be elected, will be decided after the referendum.

The task force also announced a broad set of principles about the Voice, including that members would be elected by indigenous peoples in a way that suits local communities, would be geographically and gender representative, and would not have veto power.