The Australian government on Thursday released the wording of a referendum question that promises the nation's Indigenous population a greater say on policies that affect their lives.
Australians are expected to vote sometime between October and December on a constitutional amendment that would enshrine a new body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. The Voice would be an elected group charged with advocating Indigenous interests, but would not have a vote on laws.An emotional Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the body was needed to overcome Indigenous disadvantage.
"When we ran the dialogues all over Australia, our people spoke about not being listened to and not being heard. They spoke about powerlessness and voicelessness," Davies said. "A 10-year gap in life expectancy, a suicide rate twice as high, tragic levels of child mortality and disease, a massive overrepresentation in the prison population and deaths in custody, in children sent to out-of-home care," he said.
If the referendum succeeds, the constitution would state that the "Voice may make representations" to the Parliament and government "on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples."Opinion polls suggest most Australians support the Voice concept, which Albanese announced was a major priority of his center-left Labor Party government during his election night victory speech in May last year. But deep divisions remain across Australian society.
The Nationals party, the junior coalition partner in the former government, announced in November they had decided to oppose the Voice, saying it would divide the nation along racial lines.
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