If the referendum fails next weekend, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out bringing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament through legislation.
Voters will be asked to decide whether to include a First Nations advisory council in the constitution.
“If Australians vote No, I don’t believe it would be appropriate to then go and say ‘oh well, you’ve had your say but we’re going to legislate anyway’,” he stated to Insiders.
“What we will do is respect the outcome of the referendum.”
The Voice would be an advisory body that couldn’t override decisions made by the government. While it wouldn’t manage or assign funds to initiatives, it would counsel the federal parliament and the government on issues pertaining to Indigenous Australians.
If a Voice to Parliament was legislated, it might be abolished by the current government in the future. The body is permanent if it is enshrined in the constitution, which can only be done by a referendum. To remove it, another referendum would be necessary.
A referendum requires a double majority to be successful. That indicates that a majority of voters—that is, at least four states—have voted in favour of the proposal.
Trends in polling suggest that on October 14, the No vote is probably going to prevail. “Indigenous Australians have said they want a Voice that’s enshrined,” Albanese stated.
“What they refuse to do is what they have repeatedly done, which is to assist in the creation of representative bodies just to watch as a government intervenes to dismantle them for self-serving motives.
“This referendum is about all of that social capital, all of that investment of their heart and soul that has been taken away so many times. Listening is the key.”
Indigenous advisory bodies have been eliminated by both the Coalition and Labour governments.
On Saturday, Mr. Albanese participated in the first referendum held in Australia in over two decades. The prime minister so became one of the 2.2 million Australians who have cast early ballots.
When he spoke on Sunday, he resisted being pressed about what the outcome of the No vote would mean for Australia. “I am hoping we vote Yes because the debate here is whether Australia will enlarge ourselves,” he stated.
“Whether a country that looks for hope and optimism and for the future or whether we shrink in on ourselves.”
The Voice to Parliament has been the target of campaigning by the Coalition. In the event that the Coalition wins the next election, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised to call another referendum on the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the constitution, but not the Voice.
Rather than a federal voice, the Coalition is in favour of “regional and local Voices”.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said “absolutely” in response to a question on Sky News about whether the Coalition still supported legislation pertaining to regional and local voices.
Though it was in power for nearly ten years, the Coalition failed to implement its promise of constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians.
She stated on Sunday morning, “Of course we want to see that recognition, we want to see the country come together.”
“We don’t believe that pushing ahead with this divisive Voice has been anything but against the interest of closing the gap, of bringing all Australians together, but most importantly making sure that outcomes for our First Australians improve.”
