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.




Should Australia legalise the recreational use of cannabis?

On August 10, 2023, Greens Senator David Shoebridge introduced the Greens Legalising Cannabis Bill 2023 to Federal Parliament. The bill seeks to permit the adult recreational use of cannabis. If it achieves the support of both houses, the bill will create the opportunity for a legal commercial cannabis market, as has existed in Canada since October 2018.Canada is one of eight countries in the world to have done this.
On May 9, 2018, Senator David Leyonhjelm, of the Liberal Democratic Party, introduced a bill to allow states to remove Commonwealth barriers to the legalisation, regulation, and taxation of cannabis. Both major parties and One Nation did not support the bill. The bill lapsed at the end of parliament on 1 July 2019 after the second debate on 15 October 2018.
On February 24, 2016, the Australian parliament made amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act that legalised the highly regulated commercial growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.



Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton: should classic children's books be altered?

On February 18, 2023, it was reported that Puffin, the publishers of Roald Dahl's children's books, was going to make hundreds of changes to the language of these books affecting titles such as 'James and the Giant Peach', 'The Twits', 'The Witches', 'Matilda' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. It was claimed that these changes were being made to keep the books accessible and to remove potentially offensive word choices. Edits were generally made around subjects such as weight, mental health, gender, and race.
Though there were some authors and commentators who supported the changes, many others were highly critical, rejecting the changes as damaging and unjustified censorship.
Similar changes have been made to the works of Enid Blyton. On January 11, 2022, it was announced that Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Tree' had been rewritten to demonstrate social and gender attitudes more in tune with contemporary values. On February 25, 2023, the extent of language changes to 'The Famous Five' and 'Malory Towers' series was reported.
Responses to these changes have varied, with some seeing them as extending the viability of these texts among contemporary readers and others rejecting them as unwarranted.




Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

On March 13, 2023, the New Zealand government decided not to introduce an anticipated bill to lower the national voting age to 16. This was because the government did not have the 75 percent support needed to get the bill through the New Zealand parliament.
On February 17, 2023, the New South Wales Greens announced that they would seek to have the voting age in the state lowered to 16. This is part of the Greens' policy throughout Australia.
On February 6, 2023, the Greens announced that they would be putting a bill before the Australian federal parliament to have the voting age lowered to 16 in all federal elections.
On January 26, 2023, US Republican Congresswoman Grace Meng reintroduced a bill to lower the voting age in the United States to 16.
Although 16-year-olds were given the right to vote in Scotland in 2017 and in Wales in 2020, politicians across the political spectrum in most democracies do not support the measure.
Pressure for this to change is coming from many young people's lobby groups.



Should TikTok be banned from personal devices?

On April 15, 2023, Montana became the first state in the United States to impose a total ban on the TikTok app, including its installation on personal devices. TikTok as well as Apple and Google, which operate mobile app stores, will face fines if they violate the ban.
On February 28, 2023, the White House announced that all United States federal agencies had 30 days to delete the TikTok app from government-issued mobile devices. This directive came into effect at the start of April.
On April 3, 2023, the Australian government similarly announced that TikTok must be removed from all devices issued to federal employees, including politicians. The United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand have already ordered such bans.
Many fear the current bans will lead to a total ban on TikTok on all devices in the United States and similar action in other Western democracies. India's nearly 200 million private users were required to stop using 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, in 2020.
Those who want the app to remain available highlight the importance of freedom of expression and access to entertainment and commercial opportunities. Those who want a complete ban on TikTok stress national security and privacy concerns.




Should duck hunting be banned across Australia?

On February 24, 2023, the Victorian government announced that the state's annual duck hunting season would open on April 26 and end on 30 May, with a bag limit of four birds a day. The Victorian government has also announced that it will establish a legislative council select committee to examine recreational native bird hunting in Victoria.
Conservationists have criticised the government's decision to allow duck hunting in 2023, while duck hunters have reacted adversely to the season being nearly a month shorter than the 2022 season and allowing fewer birds to be shot per day.
On January 17 it was announced that South Australia's duck hunting season would begin on March 18 and close on Sunday, June 25, making it five weeks longer than the Victorian season. However, on January 23, 2023, South Australia's Environment Minister, Susan Close, announced the government would call a review into duck hunting in the state.
The continuation of duck hunting in south-eastern mainland Australia is about to be re-examined. Hunting organisations and conservationists are marshalling their arguments in readiness to make submissions to the Victorian and South Australian governments.




Should Australian states outlaw the Nazi salute?

On January 27, 2023, it was reported that a group of Holocaust survivors are urging the Victorian government to ban the Nazi salute in public.
The move follows a series of recent incidents where white supremacists performed the gesture in public spaces, including at a ceremony for Indigenous Australians.
Supporters claim the ban is necessary because of the distress caused Holocaust survivors and their families. They say it is also necessary to reduce the spread of racial hatred.
It is seen by some as a necessary follow-up to banning the Nazi swastika, which the Victorian government did in June 2021. Other states have since either banned or are about to ban the swastika.
However, some commentators are concerned that banning the Nazi salute is an excessive restriction of freedom of expression.



The right to protest: are Australia's new protest laws too severe?

On January 12, 2023, Human Rights Watch issued its World Report 2023. The report criticised Australia on several fronts, including its adoption of laws imposing harsh penalties on certain sorts of protest.
Less than a month earlier, on December 2, 2022, climate activist Violet Coco had been fined $2,500 and sentenced to 15 months jail for blocking traffic on the Sydney Harbor Bridge for 28 minutes earlier in 2022. The fine and prison term sparked criticism of New South Wales new protest legislation which had been passed on April 1, 2022.
Similar protest legislation was passed in Tasmania in September 2022, and legislation specifically focused on discouraging anti-logging protests was passed in Victoria in August 2022. Critics of these laws claim they represent an attack on basic human rights of assembly, association, and freedom of speech and threaten the health of Australian democracy. Their supporters claim they are intended to protect the community from disruptive and potentially dangerous behaviour.



Should Australian parents be legally prevented from physically punishing their children?

On November 24, 2022, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) recommended that Australia should 'explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in law in all settings, including in homes' and [that it should] repeal the legal defence of 'reasonable chastisement'.
On October 13, 2022, the Parenting & Family Research Alliance (PAFRA) released a briefing paper titled, 'Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform', which argued for Australia to make the physical punishment of children illegal.
On September 9, 2022, Anne Hollonds, the National Children's Commissioner, also called for smacking to be made illegal. Commissioner Hollonds referred to the preliminary findings of Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) which suggests that the corporal punishment of children prompts intergenerational family violence.




Should e-scooters be legalised in Australia?

On January 3, 2023, the Victorian government extended by two months its year-long trial of hired e-scooters in the City of Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip council areas. The trial will now end on March 31st. After the trial, the Victorian Department of Transport will decide whether to permanently legalise the use of hire e-scooters in inner Melbourne suburbs and whether to legalise the on-road use of privately owned e-scooters. (Currently, privately owned e-scooters can only be legally used on private property.)
E-scooters' supporters argue they are cheap, convenient, pollution-free and reduce traffic congestion. Their opponents argue they are hazardous on roads and footpaths and that their supposed advantages have been overstated. This is a debate currently being had all around Australia and the world.
Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia allow e-scooters (either hired or privately owned) to be ridden on roads and footpaths. There are varying prohibitions and restrictions in the other states and territories.