The Voice to Parliament

This chapter discusses the proposal that the constitution should be amended so as to establish a body known as the Voice to ParliamentReferendumVoice to Parliament that would be elected by Indigenous people. A constitutional referendum that would establish the Voice was scheduled to be held as this book went to print. The proposed Voice would be able to make representations to parliament and to the government on legislation and executive actions as it affects Indigenous peoples. The chapter discusses Indigenous representative bodies that have been established in the Nordic countries and in South AfricaSovereigntySouth Africa and traces the history of the proposal in Australia as it emerged from the report of the Referendum CouncilReferendum Council and the Uluru StatementVoice to ParliamentUluru Statement in from the HeartUluru Statement from the Heart, and as refined by the Voice Co-Design Process and the First Nations Referendum Working Group. The chapter ends with a discussion of debate leading to the referendum and argues that while the Voice proposal does nothing more than create a formal mechanism for the tendering of the views of Indigenous peoples to state institutions, it is worthy of support in that it may threaten political embarrassment to governments which refuse to take account of the representations it makes.