The Voice to Parliament Referendum on 14 October 2023 was not successful.
Geelong One Fire Reconciliation Group was pleased to share the information below to support learning about The Voice to Parliament referendum process in the months prior to the vote.
The One Fire Committee view was that The Voice would be one step in the process to achieve the invitation to us all in the Uluru Statement from the Heart (see below), and shouldn't be viewed as an end point in itself.
We are aware that across the local community there were and are some differing views and feelings about The Voice.
We requested that we all be respectful in conversations together about The Voice.
Geelong One Fire members participated in kitchen table conversations about The Voice to Parliament, and joined Yes23 and other local activities to inform the broad community about the referendum and assist people to make their decision for the vote.
We were pleased to learn more towards achieving our Group objectives, and our membership grew after the referendum.
There was overall support for the Voice among First Nations people:
Geelong One Fire Reconciliation Group supported the following statement -
Australian Reconciliation Network Statement -
As peak reconciliation organisations across the country, we stand together to reaffirm our unwavering support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.......
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Voice-Week-of-Action-Australian-Reconciliation-Network-Statement.pdf
There were many online conversations and podcasts about The Voice. Here are two -
The Referendum 2023 Tapes. Episode 3 - Nicole Findlay CEO Reconciliation Victoria with Uncle Charles Pakana on Victorian Aboriginal News.
Living Black produced a special 20th anniversary panel discussion with First Nations people sharing their views about The Voice. It’s available on SBS On Demand.
For further information, we provided the links below and encouraged people to read updates at the Reconciliation Victoria website -
http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/learn/voice-to-parliament
https://ulurustatement.org/education/resources/
https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/view-the-statement/
ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART -
https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF
ABC Video Lab -
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/LABS2021102208504
YES 23 -
Together, Yes -
https://togetheryes.com.au/why-yes
Voice From The Heart Alliance -
https://voicefromtheheartalliance.com/who-are-we/
The Voice to Parliament - Referendum wording, with proposed Constutional Change
In March 2023, the Labour Government announced the wording for the Referendum which will take place later this year.
“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 proposed addition to the Constitution -
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:
1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
2. 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;
3. 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."
The principles of the Voice -
The Voice will adhere to eight principles, Wirdi man and working group member Tony McAvoy, KC, said.
1. The Voice will give independent advice to parliament and government.
2. The Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of local communities.
3. The Voice will be representative of Indigenous communities, with a gender balance and youth.
4. The Voice will be empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful, and culturally informed.
5. The Voice will be accountable and transparent.
6. The Voice will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures.
7. The Voice will not have a program delivery function.
8. The Voice will not have a veto power.
The Voice to Parliament Referendum stems from The Uluru Statement From the Heart -
ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART
We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart:
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.
This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.
How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?
With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
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.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PROCESS, UNTIL 2018
The Federal Government Joint Select Committee produced an interim report on 30 July 2018, and is due to present a final report by 29 November 2018.
Interim Report July 2018 - Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition
Early in 2017, Shireen Morris wrote the following article, linking the potential for both Constiutional Recognition and Treaty / agreement making: Indigenous constitutional recognition and the search for common ground
At the Geelong One Fire Reconciliation Group's AGM on 18 November 2014, Emily Chauvel-Byrne from Reconciliation Victoria presented to our members and visitors "Treaty and its relationship to Constitutional Recognition".
During 2013 a first stage project for Constitutional Recognition took place in Geelong.
To read the report on this project click here.
Plus -
Geelong Constitutional Recognition Project Information Sheet: Update – April 2013
RECOGNISE was the people’s movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution. It was incorporated into the work of Reconciliaiotn Australia in mid 2017.
Constitutional Recognition Progress up until 2017:
Constitutional Reform Update - October 2017:
The Prime Minister and his cabinet have officially rejected recommendations from the Referendum Council’s Final Report to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander First Nations Voice to Parliament and enact a Declaration of Recognition that articulates a symbolic statement of recognition to unify Australians.
There has been a range of media coverage of the government’s response
Read the full NITV story here.
The Referendum Council conducted nation-wide dialogues, with a final report at the end of June 2017.
They were seeking feedback on the following proposals:
drafting a statement acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians, and inserting it either in the Constitution or outside the Constitution, either as a preamble in a new head of power or in a statutory Declaration of Recognition
amending or deleting the ‘race power’, section 51 (xxvi) and replacing it with a new head of power (which might contain a statement of acknowledgement as a preamble to that power) to enable the continuation of necessary laws with respect to Indigenous issues
inserting a constitutional prohibition against racial discrimination into the Constitution
providing for an Indigenous voice to be heard by Parliament, and the right to be consulted on legislation and policy that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
deleting section 25, which contemplates the possibility of a State government excluding some Australians from voting in State elections on the basis of their race.
On 6th July 2015 Aboriginal leaders met with Prime Minister Tony Abbott & Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to discuss the process towards the referendum, currently planned for 2017.
The result is a three part process:
• A Referendum Council be established to progress issues such as settling the referendum question and timing (with regular reports to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader);
• There be a series of community conferences across the country to provide an opportunity for everyone to have a say and for all significant points of view to be considered; and
• The Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition is to develop a discussion paper to assist this consultation
The Final Report of the Act of Recognition Review Panel was published in September 2014 - Final Report of the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples Act of Recognition Review Panel
Reconciliation Victoria contributed a succinct response shortly afterwards - Ongoing Consideration: Meaningful Recognition & Agreement Making
The Parliamentary Joint Select Committee held public meetings to gain input on the developing referendum wording.
The final report of this Committee was produced in June 2015 - JSC Final Report 2015
The Committees Interim Report was published in July 2014 - JSC Interim Report July 2014
Reconciliation Victoria precis document of this draft is a helpful summary - Rec Vic JSC Interim Report precis Aug'14
Geelong Constitutional Recognition Project presented after Reconciliation Victoria, when the Committee was in Melbourne on 14th August 2014.
You can read our statement to the Committee - Geelong CR Project Statement to JSC August 2014
Reconciliation Victoria
Constitutional reform: Briefing Paper March 2014
Constitutional Recognition: Update March 2015
Constitutional Recognition Resources:
There are e-versions of both VACCA and Congress’s information sheets raising awareness on this issue at -
http://nationalcongress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Rewrite-the-Rulebook.pdf
You can also see some you tube videos from Recognise at -
http://www.youtube.com/user/RecogniseAU
Lilon Bandler is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qasH5oJiSaU and Hall Greenland is here: http://youtu.be/k3JK-6rve3g
May 2014 -
“Reconciliation Victoria is opposed to the proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA), which will weaken protections against racial discrimination. We believe that the proposed amendments will be a step back in Australia’s reconciliation journey, and will hinder efforts to close the gaps in health and other outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. Recent research found that the vast majority of Aboriginal Victorians experience racism regularly in shops, at school, at work or on public transport. The research found a strong correlation between these experiences and peoples’ level of psychological distress, which in turn can impact their health, education, employment and other areas of their lives. The repeal of Section 18C would open the door for a greater acceptance of racism in the community, when what we need is a stronger stance to stamp out racism.”
In AUGUST the proposed ammenments to this Act were dropped by Federal Governement.