Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Before the Barunga Declaration, there was the Barunga Statement, and Hawke's promise of Treaty

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 23, 2023

This week at Parliament House during Barunga Festival, four NT Land Council representatives presented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Barunga Declaration.

Key Points:

This week at Parliament House during Barunga Festival, four NT Land Council representatives presented Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Barunga Declaration.
Signed by the four NT Land Council representatives, the declaration calls on Australians to vote “yes” in the upcoming referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
NT Land Council representatives Dr Samuel Bush-Blanasi (Northern Land Council), Matthew Palmer (Central Land Council), Gibson Farmer Illortaminni (Tiwi Land Council) and Thomas Amagula (Anindilyakwa Land Council) brought the Barunga Declaration to Parliament House.

Treaty ’88 and the Barunga Statement

The Barunga Statement was the outcome of years of careful deliberation and discussion.
It was delivered from “the Indigenous owners and occupiers of Australia”, requesting the Australian government legislate for national land rights and begin treaty negotiations.
It also called for laws for a national elected Aboriginal body, and recognition of customary law by police and justice systems.
The Barunga Statement was presented during a time where there were increasing calls for a treaty.
The Treaty ’88 campaign declared that Australia was invaded by a foreign power with no treaty.

‘Treaty by 1990’

However, others have highlighted the reconciliation movement’s departure from treaty.
Playwright Wesley Enoch and actress Deborah Mailman’s play 7 Stages of Grieving includes a poem emphasising instead the “wreck”, “con” and “silly” in reconciliation.
This would symbolise the burial of hopes for a treaty, saying
Sovereignty became treaty, treaty became reconciliation and reconciliation turned into nothing.

To properly consider the Voice, we need to look to how we got here

However, the Voice aims to address a key problem that recreates disadvantage: First Nations’ political power.
First Nations peoples have long sought representation to seek particular rights to land, culture and heritage, language, self-determination and self-governance.
The referendum for a Voice is the first of a three-part sequence of reforms, outlined in the 2017 Uluru Statement, followed by treaty and truth-telling.

In a Voice campaign marked by confusing, competing claims, there's a better way to educate voters

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 19, 2023

As scholars of deliberative democracy, we suggest Australia borrow from the US state of Oregon a new way of informing the public in referendums.

Key Points:

As scholars of deliberative democracy, we suggest Australia borrow from the US state of Oregon a new way of informing the public in referendums.
The federal government has already announced a civics education program for the referendum campaign.
Better information can’t come soon enough, given the spread of confusing and sometimes misleading information in the lead-up to the referendum so far.
Read more:
What can history teach us to ensure a successful referendum for A First Nations Voice to parliament?

How mini-publics have worked elsewhere

Mini-publics have been used hundreds of times around the world, if not more – often with considerable success.
When a matter is complex and contentious – say, policies related to climate change or COVID-19 – mini-publics can be especially effective.
Comparatively speaking, ordinary citizens generally lack the same motivation and desire to wage no-holds-barred battles with the other side.
The non-partisan newDemocracy foundation has also suggested it as a potential model for providing better information to voters about the Voice.

A fair and trusted source of information

There needs to be a source of information on the Voice that is informed, reasonable, fair and trusted.
The government’s Voice campaign materials so far may be fair, but in our hyper-polarised political environment, any information authorised by the government of the day may not be widely trusted.
Information pamphlets distributed in past referendums – which included contributions from political leaders and other partisans – have faced similar problems.

What a mini-public could do in the Voice campaign

Rather than being dominated by one side in the referendum debate, it must be deliberatively broad-ranging and non-partisan.
In a campaign already cluttered with confusing, competing claims, we need a better approach.
John Dryzek receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Medical Research Future Fund.

Referendum legislation passes 52-19 to applause but Lidia Thorpe condemns 'assimilation day'

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 19, 2023

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The vote took place with the public gallery crowded with supporters, and was greeted with prolonged applause.

Key Points:

The vote took place with the public gallery crowded with supporters, and was greeted with prolonged applause.
But Indigenous crossbencher Lidia Thorpe labelled it “assimilation day” and interjected repeatedly during the debate on the bill’s third reading, and during the applause.
Those who voted against the legislation will be involved in preparing the no case for the yes/no pamphlet that will be sent to all voters.
The referendum legislation required an absolute majority, so every vote was recorded.

10 questions about the Voice to Parliament - answered by the experts

Retrieved on:

Sunday, June 18, 2023

This type of information can manipulate people’s understanding of the issues, distort their vote and the result.

Key Points:

This type of information can manipulate people’s understanding of the issues, distort their vote and the result.
Those looking for answers that avoid misinformation and disinformation often – with good reason – turn to experts.
Read more:
We now know exactly what question the Voice referendum will ask Australians.

1. Do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people support the Voice?

While there is not a single view among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, there is significant – indeed extraordinary – levels of support among them for the Voice.
First, Indigenous support is demonstrated by the deliberative processes that sits behind the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
This involved more than 1,200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the country (the claim that non-Indigenous people attended the dialogues is false).

2. Will the Voice insert race into the Constitution?

That section was originally included so as to give effect to the White Australia Policy, and Aboriginal people were excluded from it.
Its existence and breadth underscores the need for a mechanism – the Voice – to listen to the very people to whom those laws would apply.

3. How will the Voice make a practical difference?

The Voice will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a constitutionally guaranteed right to speak to government and the parliament about what’s needed for practical improvements to people’s lives.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have answers to many pressing issues confronting their communities, but all too often are not heard.

4. How can the Voice represent the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views?

Claims that the Voice will be a “Canberra Voice”, unrepresentative of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and their views, misrepresents the proposal.
These principles indicate how the government intends the Voice to represent the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and their views.
These commitments will ensure the Voice is representative of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views.

5. Is the Voice in breach of international human rights standards?

In fact, the Voice is supported under international human rights law as it recognises Indigenous peoples’ rights to political representation and is consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In human rights and international law, equality and anti-discrimination means more than just treating people exactly the same.

6. Don’t Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already have lots of ‘voices’ to government and parliament?

There is currently no representative body to provide, in a nationally coordinated way, the government and parliament with the views and experience of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who will be affected by their decisions.
To the extent there are other Indigenous organisations working with government and parliament, the Voice will complement, not detract, from their work.
And while there may be more Aboriginal parliamentarians than ever – and this should be celebrated – these individuals do not primarily represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

7. Will the Voice give rise to High Court litigation and clog up parliamentary work?

According to the prevailing weight of informed legal opinion, the establishment of the Voice does not pose any abnormal risk of excessive litigation.
Read more:
What happens if the government goes against the advice of the Voice to Parliament?

8. How does the Voice affect sovereignty?

The Voice proposal interacts with sovereignty at three different levels.
First, the call for the Voice reform is based on the strong assertion in the Uluru Statement from the Heart of the continuing and unceded sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
This is not what is happening under the Voice proposal.

9. Why do we need to put the Voice in the Constitution?

First Nations people, through the Uluru Statement from the Heart, indicated they wished for recognition in the form of the Voice.
The second part of the answer relates to the operation of the Voice.
If the Voice is in the Constitution, it can only be abolished by another referendum, rather than by a change of government policy.

10. Do Australians have enough detail to vote at the referendum?

There’s often a lot of confusion about this question, which is because there are two types of detail that people talk about.
This is the bit Australians are being asked to vote on, and the bit that is “permanent” (subject to a future referendum).
The second is the detail about what the legislation establishing the “nuts and bolts” of the Voice will look like.
Geoffrey Lindell has provided pro bono assistance to the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre on the Voice.

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Community Independent Dai Le on what voters are saying

Retrieved on:

Friday, June 16, 2023

Dai, Travel, Housing, Senate, Indigenous Voice to Parliament, COVID-19, Woman, LE, COVID, Khmer, Human voice, Parliament, Police, Hearing, Courage, Family, Labour, Nightclub

Rising interest rates and high prices for power, groceries and other necessities are hurting in particular lower and middle income people.

Key Points:

Rising interest rates and high prices for power, groceries and other necessities are hurting in particular lower and middle income people.
Independent Dai Le, who holds the seat of Fowler in Sydney’s west, managed to pull off the unthinkable at last year’s federal election.
Le, who financed her campaign with a very modest budget, defeated Labor’s Kristina Keneally, who was attempting to move from the Senate to the lower house.
Le is the first non-Labor MP to represent the area, one of Australia’s most multicultural electorates.

Sport bodies say 'yes' to the Voice. But they should reflect on their own backyards too

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Some proponents of the “no” vote contend that sports bodies should have no place in political debate.

Key Points:

Some proponents of the “no” vote contend that sports bodies should have no place in political debate.
However, sports bodies have a charter to be engaged with the community and are committed to numerous groups and causes.
So, while sports bodies are notable advocates of a Voice to parliament, they might want to consider how much of a voice Indigenous athletes have in their own organisations.

Why a ‘yes’ vote?

Many sport bodies have made commitments to the wellbeing of their Indigenous employees.
Multiple sports feature Reconciliation Action Plans, and Indigenous cultures often feature in the pre-match ceremonies of major sport events, such as the Welcome to Country.
Given many sport bodies are committed to Indigenous wellbeing and community engagement, it seems logical for sports bodies to publicly support the Voice proposal.

Political advocacy

The interplay of sport organisations and social and political causes is hardly new.
In Australia, an obvious recent example is the vote for same-sex marriage, which was supported by numerous sports bodies.
These organisations have core values around cultural diversity and policies to promote inclusion, so their support of the “yes” campaign was hardly surprising.

Voices against sport

For Howard, sport should only be an “escape” from politics, with fans mingling to focus on having a good time and cheering their team.
The inference here is that a coterie of sport executives has conspired to dictate a position in the absence of any consultation.
Sport, from the perspective of these naysayers, should be silent on the Voice.

Social responsibility

Whether the same-sex marriage campaign, empowerment of women or climate change, sports increasingly take a view because they have a responsibility.
Sports bodies have too often not consulted First Nations’ players or administrators when making decisions for the “good of the game”.

Voice, treaty, truth: compared to other settler nations, Australia is the exception, not the rule

Retrieved on:

Saturday, June 10, 2023

For many non-Indigenous Australians, it might seem the Voice to Parliament – the first step in the Uluru Statement’s process of “voice, treaty, truth” – is a recent idea.

Key Points:

For many non-Indigenous Australians, it might seem the Voice to Parliament – the first step in the Uluru Statement’s process of “voice, treaty, truth” – is a recent idea.
They’ve also existed in other settler nations like New Zealand and Canada where treaties were forged at the point of colonisation.

The Larrakia petition

One famous example is the Larrakia petition to the queen, organised in 1972 to coincide with Princess Margaret’s royal visit.
The Larrikia organisers waited patiently outside Government House in Darwin to hand the petition directly to Princess Margaret.
When a police barricade prevented them and tore the petition, they taped it together and sent it directly to Buckingham Palace.

William Cooper’s petition

Decades earlier, Yorta Yorta civil rights activist and co-founder of the Australian Aborigines’ League, William Cooper, spent the mid-1930s collecting more than 1,800 signatures from Indigenous communities across Australia for a petition to the king.
As with the Larrakia petition, Australian government officials prevented the delivery of Cooper’s petition.

In other countries, it has been different

In Canada and New Zealand, the British Crown did make treaties with Indigenous peoples at the point of formal colonisation.
In these countries, the right of political representation has not been contested in the same way.
That’s not to say these nations provide a direct model for Australia.
Political representation is enshrined in the Māori Representation Act 1867, which gave all Māori men the right to vote.

Australia’s missed opportunities for treaty

Australia was exceptional in Britain’s settler empire for having no formal history of treaty between Indigenous peoples and the Crown.
But that doctrine did not necessarily hold true in perpetuity, and the continuing absence of treaties in Australia was not inevitable.
By the 1800s, the mood of the Colonial Office (the British government department that managed colonies) had shifted.
He suggested treaty arrangements should be made with Indigenous peoples in the territories of western and southern Australia to avoid a similar risk.

Truth: resetting the relationship, not just the record

But in 19th century Australia, the frontier wars were far from secret.
What’s missing from the colonial records are the voices and perspectives of the Indigenous communities who experienced the frontier wars.
Legal scholars Gabrielle Appleby and Megan Davis have emphasised that the value of truth is not just in resetting the historical record but in constructively resetting the relationship between First Nations and the rest of the nation.

Labor maintains large Newspoll lead, but support for Voice slumps

Retrieved on:

Monday, June 5, 2023

A federal Newspoll, conducted May 31 to June 3 from a sample of 1,549, gave Labor a 55-45 lead, unchanged from the last Newspoll, three weeks ago.

Key Points:

A federal Newspoll, conducted May 31 to June 3 from a sample of 1,549, gave Labor a 55-45 lead, unchanged from the last Newspoll, three weeks ago.
Primary votes were 38% Labor (steady), 34% Coalition (steady), 12% Greens (up one), 6% One Nation (down one) and 10% for all Others (steady).
Support for the Indigenous Voice to parliament slumped to a 46-43 lead for “yes” with 11% undecided, from a 53-39 lead in early April.

Essential poll: 52-43 to Labor including undecided

In last week’s Essential poll, conducted May 24-28 from a sample of 1,138, Labor led by 52-43 including undecided (53-42 the previous fortnight).
Primary votes were 34% Labor (down one), 31% Coalition (steady), 15% Greens (up one), 6% One Nation (up one), 2% UAP (up one), 7% for all Others (down one) and 5% undecided (steady).

Freshwater poll only gives Labor a 52-48 lead

The Poll Bludger reported on May 22 that a Freshwater poll for The Financial Review, conducted May 15-17 from a sample of 1,005, gave Labor a 52-48 lead, a two-point gain for the Coalition since December.
Primary votes were 37% Coalition (steady), 34% Labor (down three), 12% Greens (steady) and 17% for all Others (up three).
An April Freshwater poll had given “yes” an overall 56-44 lead.
A Painted Dog WA poll for The West Australian gave Albanese a net +23 approval while Dutton was at net -32.

Opposition to Voice drops in Morgan poll

A Morgan SMS poll, conducted May 26-29 from a sample of 1,833, had support for an Indigenous Voice to parliament at 46% (steady since mid-April), opposition at 36% (down three) and 18% undecided (up three).
Excluding undecided, “yes” led by 56-44, a two-point gain for “yes”.
Morgan’s weekly voting intentions poll gave Labor a 55.5-44.5 lead last week, unchanged on the previous week but a 1.5-point gain for the Coalition since three weeks ago.

WA Premier Mark McGowan resigns

Labor Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced his resignation as premier and member for Rockingham last Monday.
At the March 2021 WA state election, McGowan led Labor to the biggest landslide win in Australian state or federal political history.
They won 53 of the 59 lower house seats and 22 of the 36 upper house seats – the first WA Labor upper house majority.

US debt limit deal passes Congress

I covered the passage of the US debt limit deal between President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy through Congress last week for The Poll Bludger.
My tactical analysis of the deal was harsh on McCarthy, saying he was more like a pussycat than a tiger.

Morgan Victorian poll: 61.5-38.5 to Labor

A Victorian SMS Morgan state poll, conducted May 17-22 from a sample of 2,095, gave Labor a 61.5-38.5 lead over the Coalition (55.0-45.0 at the November 2022 election).
Primary votes were 42% Labor, 28.5% Coalition, 12.5% Greens and 17% for all Others.
By 52.5-47.5 voters approved of Labor Premier Daniel Andrews’ performance (57.5-42.5 in a November Morgan poll).
Respondents were asked why they approved or disapproved, with many who disapproved of Pesutto citing his handling of the Moira Deeming affair.

NSW Resolve poll: Labor honeymoon after election win

Two party estimates are not generally provided by Resolve, but Labor is far ahead.
Incumbent Chris Minns led new Liberal leader Mark Speakman as preferred premier by 42-12.

Tasmanian EMRS poll: Liberals slump but Labor doesn’t benefit

A Tasmanian state EMRS poll, conducted May 15-19 from a sample of 1,000, gave the Liberals 36% of the vote (down six since February), Labor 31% (up one), the Greens 15% (up two) and all Others 18% (up three).
Tasmania uses a proportional system for its lower house, so a two party estimate is not applicable.

Sims Limited Launches Second RAP during National Reconciliation Week 2023

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Sims Limited (ASX: SGM), a global leader in sustainability and an enabler of the circular economy, today announced the launch of its second Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – its first Innovate RAP .

Key Points:

Sims Limited (ASX: SGM), a global leader in sustainability and an enabler of the circular economy, today announced the launch of its second Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – its first Innovate RAP .
View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230531006066/en/
Sims Limited Innovate Reconciliation Plan (Graphic: Business Wire)
Sims Limited’s Innovate RAP is endorsed by Reconciliation Australia and reflects an evolution of the company’s progress in the Reconciliation movement.
“As a company whose history in Australia goes back more than 100 years, we recognise Sims Limited has a role to play in contributing to Reconciliation, and we are proud to launch our next set of commitments during Reconciliation Week ,” said Alistair Field, chief executive officer and managing director at Sims Limited.
To read and download the Sims Limited Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, visit simsltd.com/DEI .

The antithesis of healing: the AFL turns away from truth-telling again, ending Hawthorn investigation

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 1, 2023

The Indigenous-led ceremony was a deeply moving instance of community care, love and solidarity.

Key Points:

The Indigenous-led ceremony was a deeply moving instance of community care, love and solidarity.
Tuesday’s announcement by the AFL of the termination of the investigation into allegations of racism at Hawthorn was the antithesis of such healing.
The AFL has also hinted it may charge Hawthorn with bringing the game into disrepute over its handling of the internal report.

Sorry timing

It’s hard not to be cynical about the release of this news after the conclusion of the Sir Doug Nicholls “Indigenous round”, and Sorry Day.
If the allegations are true, it could be argued the Hawthorn officials who were involved thought they were acting in the “best interests” of the players.
How could the AFL not wish to find out the truth of the matter when the allegations concern such egregious conduct?
Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan also claimed that the defendants had been “cleared” and the complainants “feel heard”.

(Not) listening to Indigenous voices

Yet, in electing to set up its own investigation into the allegations of racism at Hawthorn, the AFL was clearly going against the voices of key Indigenous women at the centre of these allegations.
The erasure of Indigenous women’s voices and experiences is also emblematic of life on this continent.
Indigenous women in Australia are eight times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women, yet the violence they experience receives far less attention.

Truth-telling

What’s clearly needed is for the AFL to engage in a full process of truth-telling.
The AFL Players Association is the most recent group to note that the AFL’s investigation into Hawthorn was “not truly independent”.
Incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has proclaimed he is not part of a (white) boys club.