Australia’s parliament has enacted legislation to allow a historic referendum on Aboriginal rights to decide if Indigenous people deserve a “voice” in national government. 52 senators supported the measure while 19 opposed it in a final vote. Australians will vote on adding a “Voice to Parliament” committee to the constitution to advise parliament on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues. “Parliaments pass laws but people make history,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference after the measure passed. Albanese hasn’t scheduled the referendum, but it’s likely by year’s end.
“This is your chance to make history,” he remarked. Aboriginal Australians make about 25% of Australia’s prison population, with many doing time for petty offences. One-third of Indigenous Australians, hundreds of whom were slain after the British came and assumed sovereignty of the country under the Latin legal term terra nullius, live below the poverty line. Indigenous Australians, whose ancestors have been on the continent for at least 60,000 years, would finally be recognized in the constitution if the vote passes. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders would also have a constitutional entitlement to government consultation on policies affecting them. Albanese remarked, “This is about who we are as a nation. Now, Australians may vote for reconciliation and constitutional acknowledgment of First Nations people. The “Voice to Parliament” has majority support, but as the discussion heats up, support is eroding. The Senate applauded the final statistics. “It is a very simple request….to be recognized in the constitution,” Indigenous lady and governing Labor Party senator Malarndirri McCarthy told the Senate. “Most Indigenous people want this,” she stated. According to Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, a “yes” vote will racially divide the nation. “It will have an Orwellian effect where all Australians are equal but some are more equal,” he remarked earlier this year. Greens leader Adam Bandt called the accusation “racist dog-whistling” on Monday. Some Aboriginal Australians have also questioned the voice.
Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, a famous Indigenous activist, called it a “powerless advisory body”. “That’s what this is about—it’s appeasing the white guilt in this country,” she remarked before the law passed on Monday. She earlier told reporter that Australia needs a Truth and Justice Commission to educate people about its past and treatment of Aboriginal people. Only eight of 44 referendum initiatives have been approved by Australians. Australians rejected a republic in 1999. The administration needs a double majority—more than 50% of votes worldwide and a majority in at least four states—to win the referendum.
