With the Voice to Parliament Referendum date announced to be October 14 2023, this thread will run in the lead up to the date for general discussions/queries regarding the Voice to Parliament.
The Proposed Constitutional Amendment
Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice
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.
Past Discussions
Here are some previous posts in this community regarding the referendum:
- The Voice referendum official Yes/No pamphlets
- Linda Burney says there is everything to gain and nothing to lose by supporting the Voice
- Families distressed after ‘highly misleading’ video used by anti-Voice campaigners goes viral
- The Indigenous Voice to Parliament – separating fact from fiction | 7.30
- 10 questions about the Voice to Parliament - answered by the experts
- The yes pamphlet: campaign’s voice to parliament referendum essay – annotated and factchecked
- Fact-checking for the “No” referendum pamphlet was not compulsory
Common Misinformation
- “The Uluru Statement from the Heart is 26 Pages not 1” - not true
Government Information
- Referendum question and constitutional amendment
- voice.gov.au - General information about the Voice
Amendments to this post
If you would like to see some other articles or posts linked here please let me know and I’ll try to add it as soon as possible.
- Added the proposed constitutional amendment (31/08/2023)
- Added Common Misinformation section (01/07/2023)
Discussion / Rules
Please follow the rules in the sidebar and for aussie.zone in general. Anything deemed to be misinformation or with malicious intent will be removed at moderators’ discretion. This is a safe space to discuss your opinion on the voice or ask general questions.
Please continue posting news articles as separate posts but consider adding a link to this post to encourage discussion.
Whether you call it race or cultural group, the argument doesn’t change. I think all Australians should be treated equally by the law, and any Australian who is disadvantaged should receive help, regardless of whether they’re part of one culture or another. Enshrining in the constitution that one cultural group gets extra representation to parliament that other cultural groups do not get is, in my view, a step away from the Australia that I want to live in.
If I understand correctly your argument against the voice is that the traditional owners of this land should not be represented by an advisory body in the constitution because they are no different to any other cultural group that experiences disadvantage.
This isn’t about addressing their current disadvantage - it could be used to help with that - it’s about a way forward respecting their culture and extensive history. The Australia I want to live in is where we can have an Australia Day that isn’t divisive; an Australia where the oldest living culture lives on and we’re proud of it. What I really want is an Australia which can look back at its past and say “that was wrong, but we’re in a better place now”.
Today we live in an Australia where the past is troubled because we haven’t come to terms with it. I remember back during the BLM protests when statues of slave traders, explorers and colonisers were being defaced and torn down, prominent archaeologist Mary Beard was saying that we should keep the statues. Why? Not because we’re proud of those people or what they did. It was because it reminded us where we came from. Many of these parts in the UK were built on slave money and while the current inhabitants didn’t do that and don’t condone those actions they still benefit from them.
The comparison to the UK and BLM may seem like a bit of a reach, but I guarantee you that it relates to our current debate. The Voice represents a statue, it reminds us of the past. And I agree with you I would like to live in an Australia where we don’t need statues, because I didn’t create this problem and solving it is going to be difficult. Perhaps one day in 100 years time there will be a referendum to remove the Voice. But as long as Indigenous children grow up asking where they came from and why they don’t live there anymore we need statues, we can’t just ignore the past. Indigenous people have passed stories along for thousands of years, they’re not forgetting any time soon.
Sorry for the essay but I hope that you and other people sharing your opinion do give it a read.
You don’t need the Voice to be able to respect aboriginal culture and history or pass along stories.
I also don’t support statues glorifying slave traders.
What’s your solution then?
Also I never said that I support statues glorifying slave traders, I support statues reminding us of the source of our wealth.