Aussie govt's details on indigenous voice to follow referendum

SYDNEY • Details for giving Australia's indigenous people a voice in Parliament will follow a national referendum on the question, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday.

His centre-left Labor Party government is seeking a referendum, required to alter the Constitution, on recognising indigenous people in the Constitution and requiring consultation with them on decisions that affect their lives.

Australia's indigenous people have toiled for generations to win recognition for injustices suffered since European colonisation in the 1700s. The Constitution, which came into effect in January 1901, does not refer to the country's indigenous people.

Mr Albanese revealed the plan on Saturday in a speech at an indigenous festival in remote Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. In an interview with ABC television, broadcast yesterday, he said details on the indigenous voice would follow the referendum, if the proposal won support.

The Prime Minister said his government has not decided precisely when to hold the referendum, which he had previously said he wants in Parliament's current term. He reiterated that the indigenous voice would not act as a third chamber in Parliament.

The proposal to enshrine an indigenous voice in Parliament was a pledge Labor took in May's general election, where it ended almost a decade of the conservative Liberal-National coalition government.

The ousted coalition has called the plan a "positive step" but says more needs to be known about how the function would work.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said a formal truth-telling process was needed, in addition to a voice to Parliament. "One of the things that we're thinking about at the moment is what form that would take," she told ABC television.

Indigenous advocacy group, The Uluru Statement, welcomed the Prime Minister's speech, writing on Twitter: "We all now have the opportunity to make meaningful change for future generations of First Nations Peoples."

Altering the Constitution requires the support of a majority of votes in a majority of states.

A successful referendum would bring Australia in line with Canada, New Zealand and the United States in formally recognising indigenous populations.

REUTERS