Australia’s government opened its campaign to establish an Indigenous advisory body to lawmakers — known as the Voice to Parliament — with a national vote due by year’s end, even as polls show mounting opposition to the proposal.
Legislation to begin the referendum process passed the Senate, or upper house of parliament, early Monday and mandates that a national vote be held by December. It comes as recent surveys indicate support for the changes has slipped below 50%.
The referendum, if successful, will create an advisory body of Indigenous Australians that will counsel the parliament on legislation affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It will also enshrine First Nations people in the constitution.
The center-left Labor government pledged to alter the constitution to create the Voice to Parliament in its first term and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invested significant political capital in the proposal.
Speaking in the Senate on Monday, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said it was a “critical moment” in Australia’s history and called on the country to vote yes for a “better future.”
“It is a very simple request to be recognized in the Australian constitution,” McCarthy said. “We should show not only to each other, but to our global family around the world, that First Nations people do matter in this country.”
However, the conservative opposition rejects the proposed change, arguing it will “re-racialize” the constitution by giving Indigenous people rights that others do not enjoy. Australian referendums rarely succeed and those that do tend to have bipartisan support.
Australians Split Over Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Poll Shows
Shadow spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told the Senate the proposal was legally risky, with an unclear and potentially broad remit. “This is a dangerous and costly proposal,” she said. “It is legally risky and full of unknowns.”
Australia’s constitution can only be amended through a national referendum which requires a majority of votes and a majority of support in the six states to succeed.
The passage of the referendum legislation comes as support for the Voice to Parliament has begun to slip in surveys released in recent weeks. A poll by Resolve released June 12 found only 49% of Australians backed the change, down from 58% in January.
A Newspoll survey released on June 5 found support for the Voice had fallen to 46% from as high as 53% in early April.
