The official “Yes” campaign has been launched to support changing Australia’s Constitution to include an “advisory body” for Indigenous peoples.
The campaign was launched at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide on Feb. 23 by the From the Heart organisation.
Semara Jose, a member of the campaign, said the launch would send a strong signal.
“This conversation around recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution has never been about politicians, it is an invitation extended to all Australians,” she told ABC TV.
“That opportunity [is] for all Australians to begin at this conversation, to join on the journey with us, to be open to really have some powerful conversations.”
While director of the From the Heart group, Dean Parkin, said it was an important step towards the impending referendum on The Voice.
“From the past several years of talking to people on the subject of constitutional recognition across communities, we know the Australian people are up for this,” he said.
“We have long argued that support for constitutional recognition through a Voice is a way to bring the country together.”
The main thrust of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament is to establish a near-permanent advisory body to the two houses of the Australian Parliament that will—in its current manifestation—have the power to give advice on laws being passed.
While the prime minister has maintained the Voice will have no veto power, he conceded that the function of the body could be changed and altered by the government at a later date—leaving open the possibility of granting more powers to such a body.
‘Yes’ Campaign Has Its Detractors
The campaign does have its detractors, notably an opposition “No” campaign that was launched weeks earlier headed by former Labor Party President Warren Mundine.Backers of “Recognise A Better Way” are calling for a change to the wording of the preamble of the Constitution—a proposal previously earmarked by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott—as well as establishing a parliamentary all-party standing committee for native title holders.
Mundine also floated the idea of recognising the contribution of migrant groups to the country. Australia has a large overseas-born migrant population.
Just a week later, a separate No campaign was launched and headlined by Senator Jacinta Price.
“For the first time in our history, our founding document will be tilted in favour of one group of Australians depending on their race,” said organiser Fair Australia.
“The Voice will drive a wedge between Indigenous peoples and divide Aussies by race.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe, who recently quit the Australian Greens over the Voice issue was sceptical it could achieve tangible outcomes for Aboriginal communities.
“I know everyone in that room (at the ”yes“ campaign launch) will support action and movement on these two important areas that the Closing the Gap report continually, every year, continues to fail,” Thorpe told ABC Radio.
“They’re the conversations we need to have, that’s been part of the negotiations since the beginning. And we can’t lose sight of that, because people are dying.”
Going forward Thorpe will push the Black Sovereign Movement for even stronger affirmative action to address Indigenous issues.
Meanwhile, the Liberal-National’s Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor maintained calls for more detail to be provided around the Voice.
“The detail really matters. This has potential to be a very substantial change, but we don’t know the detail,” he told ABC TV.
“We have come to this in good faith. We recognised there are real challenges in Indigenous communities that need to be addressed. We want to see those issues addressed on the ground.”
