Australians will soon be asked to vote in a referendum asking: Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?
Frank Brennan has been an advocate for Indigenous rights for 40 years. In An Indigenous Voice to Parliament, he explores the difficult path travelled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and their supporters to get to this question.
In the past, advocates argued for changes to Commonwealth Parliament’s powers to legislate for Indigenous Australians and to the capacity of the High Court to strike down racially discriminatory laws. They also sought changes to the Constitution that would acknowledge Indigenous history, reality, and aspirations.
All those proposals are now replaced with the Voice. But is it to be a Voice to Parliament or a Voice to Parliament and to Government? Would the focus be only on special laws applying to First Australians, or on any other relevant matters?
An Indigenous Voice to Parliament fairly outlines both the ‘Yes’ case and the ‘No’ case, so that voters can make up their own minds before casting their vote in the referendum.
Table of Content
Prologue
Where I’m Coming From 1
Chapter 1
A Task for Every Conscientious Citizen 11
Chapter 2
The Australian Constitution and Earlier Amendments 19
Chapter 3
History of Proposals for Indigenous Recognition 29
2007-2017
Chapter 4
The Uluru Statement and the Referendum Council 2017 45
Chapter 5
Mr Albanese at Garma 2022 61
Chapter 6
Seeking a Way Forward 71
Chapter 7
The ‘Yes’ Case 83
Chapter 8
The ‘No’ Case 95
About the author
Frank Brennan is a Catholic priest, a lawyer and a member of the Jesuit Order. He has been a long-time advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, having commenced this public ministry as Adviser to the Queensland Catholic Bishops in 1982. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1995 for services to Aboriginal Australians, particularly as an advocate in the areas of law, social justice and reconciliation. He and Senator Patrick Dodson shared the inaugural Human Rights Award from the Australian Council for Overseas Aid. In 2015, he published No Small Change: The Road to Recognition for Indigenous Australia. He chaired the National Human Rights Consultation for the Rudd Government, was a member of the expert panel on religious freedom for the Turnbull Government, and a member of the Morrison Government’s Senior Advisory Group guiding the co-design process to develop an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
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