House debates

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Bills

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023; Second Reading

5:42 pm

Photo of Justine ElliotJustine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on a bill that's going to be a defining moment in our nation's history. I start by firstly acknowledging the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia and as the traditional owners of this land. I acknowledge the traditional land owners here in Canberra, the Ngunnawal people, and I also acknowledge the traditional owners in my electorate of Richmond, the people of the Bundjalung nation.

This bill—the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023—is a powerful marker of our respect for the First Nations peoples of Australia. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have occupied the Australian continent and maintained relationships with Australia's land, waters and sky for more than 60,000 years. We are so incredibly fortunate to live in a country where our First Nations peoples represent the oldest continuous living cultures in human history. Despite this remarkable fact, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not recognised in our Constitution. This is not alright. This is not acceptable. This needs to change, and I'm incredibly proud to be part of a government that will make that change.

The constitutional amendment in this bill will rectify more than 120 years of explicit exclusion from the provisions of Australia's founding legal document. This bill is to amend the Australian Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing the Voice. It is the first formal step towards holding a referendum by the end of this year. It's a form of constitutional recognition that is practical and long overdue.

We, importantly, need to recognise and acknowledge the atrocities in our past and the actions that have led us to this moment—the dispossession of lands, languages and cultures, and the infliction of top-down harsh government policies. All of these have contributed to the deep and continuing wounds of generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures. The fact is that there are moments in our history that are shameful. However, there are also moments in our history that we can and should be proud of in terms of reconciliation, like the 1967 referendum, where more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to amend the Constitution to allow the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people and to include them in the census. In 1992 the Mabo decision overturned the legal fiction that Australia was terra nullius. This was legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's relationship to their country. I was so incredibly honoured to be here in this place in 2008, when then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the stolen generations, their descendants and their families for the profound grief, suffering and loss caused by their mistreatment. The apology was very, very powerful and it did make a difference. Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution and listening to their views on laws and policies that matter to them will also make a difference. I am credibly honoured to be a member of the Albanese Labor government that is taking this next important step in the future of our nation.

At so many events, gatherings and functions in my electorate, people continue to raise the issue of the Voice and the upcoming referendum. It is a conversation that my community and many other communities are having. They are having it because this will be a defining moment for our nation's history. The overwhelming feeling in my community out there is one of hope and excitement about the Voice and the change will bring. People know this is an important moment, like the apology was a moment, like marriage equality was a moment. People want to get involved in this referendum. They want to help, they want to volunteer, they want to be part of history in the making.

What is also really wonderful about it in my community is that so many people, regardless of their backgrounds or political allegiances are supportive of the Voice to Parliament. It's great to see that support. That includes representatives from local councils, state government representatives, local organisations, small businesses and many individuals themselves. They all want to come together on this particular issue, and that's because they want to be on the right side of history and to take up what is an incredibly generous offer from our First Nations people to walk hand in hand into a better and more respectful future. The Voice has the support of every single state and territory leader across Australia. The business community, unions, sporting organisations and faith groups are all backing 'yes'. Constitutional recognition is supported by 80 per cent of Indigenous Australians, the largest First Nations consensus on the way forward in this country. I have great faith that my community on the north coast will get this right.

Let's be very clear. This pathway, this future, is supported, as I said, by the overwhelming majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates. It was supported by those delegates who gathered from all points under the southern sky in May 2017 on the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It is time to accept that generous invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart for all Australians to walk with our First Nations people towards a better future. The Uluru Statement from the Heart was supported by over 250 delegates following consultation with 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were involved in the Uluru dialogues. The resounding message from the dialogues is reflected in the call from the Uluru Statement from the Heart: voice, treaty, truth.

Our government is committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. This means having the referendum later in the year to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution. It is about giving Indigenous Australians a say in their future. Essentially, the referendum is about two things: recognition and listening. That is, recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia, with more than 60,000 years of history and continuous connection to this land; and listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when it comes to laws and policies that affect them. We know listening to communities leads to better policies, better laws and better outcomes, and making a practical difference on the ground in areas like health, education and housing. That's what the Voice will help deliver. We know outcomes are better when we partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and the evidence is there through a whole range of programs; we know this is the case. And it's clear that outcomes are better when communities are actually at the heart of that decision-making. And the best way forward to do this is through the Voice to Parliament.

It's a simple proposition. Australians will be asked a very simple question at the referendum:

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?

If approved at the referendum, a new chapter will be written into our Constitution, and it will recognise, finally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia and establish the Voice to Parliament. Chapter IX, titled 'Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples', will read as follows:

(i) there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;

(ii) 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;

(iii) 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 constitutional amendment confers no power on the Voice to prevent, delay or veto decisions of the parliament or of the executive. What it does is create a critical link between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the parliament and the executive government. That's vitally important. It gets the balance right. It will enhance our democracy and our democratic institutions. Very importantly, it ensures the Voice will be an enduring and independent representative body that cannot be taken away by any governments or politicians. It will be there.

The Voice will complement and enhance existing structures of our democratic systems. Indeed, the Solicitor-General says the proposal to enshrine the Voice in the Constitution is not only compatible with Australia's system of representative and responsible government; it will actually enhance that system. That's what is so vitally important. The fact is it is a very straightforward design. It has been designed and developed through an incredible amount of consultation and collaboration with many people.

Last year we went to the election with a clear commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including holding this referendum. And the Australian people elected us. They know we are committed to holding this referendum, and I think they know how important it is. With the introduction of this bill the Albanese government is taking the first formal step to honour that commitment. It's a commitment we made not just to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; indeed, we made that incredibly important commitment to all Australians.

I would like, for a minute, to talk about some of the design principles of the Voice. The Voice will give independent advice to parliament and government. It will be able to make proactive representations as well as respond to requests. The Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities' people based on the wishes of local communities, not appointed by government. It will be representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with a gender balance that includes youth. It will be empowering, community led, inclusive, respectful and culturally informed. It will be accountable and transparent. The Voice will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures. The Voice will not have a program delivery function. It doesn't have a veto power. It's very clear what the design principles are.

The Voice to Parliament referendum gives us all an incredible chance to write a new chapter in our Constitution, to make history. The 2023 referendum later this year will be an incredibly unifying moment for all Australians. For over 120 years we have not recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in our Constitution. We have the opportunity in this referendum, which is why it's so incredibly important to have people voting yes right across the nation. Indeed, voting yes is the best chance we have to create change and to deliver a better future.

I know, talking to people in my community, the commitment they have—in fact, they want to be a part of history because they see how important this is. They know this is overdue. It was one of the very big issues in the election campaign, our commitment to making sure that the Uluru Statement from the Heart was followed through. We are doing that now with this bill for the referendum for the Voice. Australians have generous hearts, and they want to see a better future right across the nation. People in my electorate have reflected to me about wanting to vote yes, and I certainly encourage people across the nation to do the same. Together, in a positive and generous way, we can walk together to create that better future.

As I said previously, I was very fortunate to be here in 2008 when then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave that apology to the stolen generations. It was an incredibly moving moment here, it really was, in terms of the reactions in this place, and across the nation. It changed the nation. It really did. We have an opportunity to do that again. We need to embrace that moment and move forward together. I encourage everyone to vote yes to make this happen, and I strongly commend this bill to the House.

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