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Australia made progress on Thursday towards a historic referendum that will grant recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the constitution and give them a voice for the first time on issues that have an impact on their lives.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Australians to support what he called a long-overdue vote in an impassioned speech in which he disclosed the question the government plans to put in the referendum later this year.
The following will be the referendum question posed to Australians: “A Proposed Law: To create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice and amend the Constitution to recognise Australia’s First Peoples. Do you agree with the change being proposed? “.
The Aboriginal people, who make up roughly 3.2% of Australia’s population of almost 26 million, were marginalised by British colonial rulers and are not addressed in the 122-year-old constitution. They lag behind national averages on the majority of socioeconomic indices and did not receive the opportunity to vote until the 1960s.
Albanese urged Australians to change the constitution so that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, a consultative group in parliament, could be established. Voters would be asked to cast their ballots between October and December.
The committee would offer the parliament non-obligatory recommendations on issues pertaining to First Nations people.
In an effort to have it approved by the parliament by the end of June, the government will introduce the law the following week. A countrywide referendum is required for any constitutional amendments.
Opposition seeks details on Referendum
Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition, claimed that the administration had still not responded to his questions about the operation of the consultative panel and that he required more information.
While the left-leaning Greens party and a few independent MPs have pledged support for the Initiative, the rural-based National Party, the minor partner in the opposition coalition, has declared its intention to oppose it.
The referendum is a huge political bet for Albanese. In 19 referendums since Australia gained its independence in 1901, there have been 44 propositions for constitutional reform, and 8 amongst them have been approved.
The wording of that referendum was criticised by opponents, and Albanese has stated he would try to make the current issue as simple and straightforward as possible.
The government has not made the funding commitments that the opposition conservative coalition has been requesting for campaign groups that favour and oppose the referendum.
The Yes-No pamphlet, which presents reasons from both sides, will be distributed to every household, according to the federal government.
