Senate debates

Friday, 16 June 2023

Bills

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023; In Committee

10:23 pm

Photo of Michaelia CashMichaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

That's not in the actual constitutional—if I look at the actual constitutional change:

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

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

'In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia'—so it's merely in recognition of them—'there shall be a body', and that body will be 'called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice'. I'm referring to the 'body'. There's nothing that actually states that there's any of the characteristic that you just stated there was. I want to be clear here. Are you suggesting the government's expectation is that the High Court in the future will imply a requirement that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice be made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?

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