The Voice Referendum:
Should Australia guarantee an Indigenous Voice to Parliament within the Constitution?
Video clip at right: On September 20, 2023, 9 News Australia televised a 4-minute segment explaining arguments for and against the Voice proposal and how the referendum will operate.
The Issue at a Glance
What they said...'We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny, our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.'
From the Uluru Statement from the Heart
'The referendum seeks to give...our current Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders and their children a special place of influence and representation with the federal government... That...discriminates against all other Australians.'
Jeff Kennett, former Liberal premier of Victoria
On Saturday, 14 October 2023, Australians will vote in a referendum on whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
On 19 June 2023, Parliament agreed that the constitutional amendment and question would be as follows:
Voters will be asked to vote 'yes' or 'no' on a single question. The question on the ballot paper will be: 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 supporting and opposing arguments for this proposed constitutional amendment are being debated across Australia. The Labor Party and the Greens support the Voice and the Liberal Party, and the National Party oppose it. Opinions within the Australian electorate are divided. A survey published by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on September 11, 2023, showed national support had dropped to 43 percent, from 46 percent in August.