Dr Emma Lee – Associate Professor, Indigenous Leadership, Swinburne University of Technology. Emma is a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country, north-east Tasmania, Australia.
Article source: First Nations people shouldn’t have to wait for a referendum to get a Voice to Parliament
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Many Australians are looking forward to an Indigenous Voice to parliament. But as we wait for a referendum to enshrine this into our Constitution some are asking: why can’t the government do it now?
The recently elected Albanese government has pledged to a full commitment to the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Uluru Statement calls for a First Nations voice to inform parliament to be enshrined in the Australian constitution – so it cannot be removed by any government of the day.
To do that, the constitution must be amended, and that can only be done by referendum. But with of over 40 referendums held since federation, only eight have passed.
So rather than waiting for a referendum to enshrine the Indigenous Voice to parliament, could the majority Labor government do it now?
I’m joined by Dr Emma Lee – Associate Professor in Indigenous Leadership at Swinburne University – and who was part of the National Co-Design Group for Indigenous Voice.