Indigenous Parliamentary Representation

Consociational theoryRightstheory requires that distinct minorities should be granted proportional representation in the organs of government. While the size of Australia’s Indigenous population would make it difficult to accommodate proportionality in the cabinet, it would be feasible to achieve proportional representation of Indigenous peoples in parliament by designating reserved Indigenous seats in the House of Representatives. This chapter examines the way in which dedicated representation has been granted to Indigenous peoples in other jurisdictions and analyses the efficacy of such measures as a mechanism for furthering Indigenous interests. It discusses how Indigenous representation could be achieved in Australia by means of the allocation of separate seats to Indigenous peoples in proportion to the number of Indigenous voters choosing to register on an Indigenous voters’ roll. The chapter ends by arguing that an Indigenous Voice in parliament has the potential to affect the balance of political power between Indigenous Australians and the rest of society in a way that an Indigenous Voice to Parliament does not. This is particularly so when, as is not uncommon, governments have a small majority in the House of Representatives and when an Indigenous bloc could use its voting power to secure the advancement of Indigenous rightsRightsindigenous.