An Aboriginal boy fishing in Kakadu National Park.
New Zealand’s October 14 election isn’t the only big event for voters on that day in this part of the world.
Australians will be voting in a referendum on whether or not to set up a formal system enabling Aboriginal people to have a say to Parliament on matters that have an impact on them.
A ‘yes’ vote for the Voice would mean making a change to the constitution and official recognition of indigenous Australians.
Last week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that date for the first Australian referendum since 1999 and since then some high profile Australians have publicly backed the proposed change.
They include musicians Jimmy Barnes and Paul Kelly, while John Farnham is allowing his famous You’re the Voice song to be used for the “yes” campaign.
The words of another song - “I used to think that the day would never come” from New Order’s True Faith - might spring to mind when thinking about the long struggle of disadvantaged indigenous people in Australia and this historic chance to improve lives.
The Labor Government wants the Voice to look into four problem areas: health, jobs, housing and education. People who advocate for “yes” point to the positives of recognition, ongoing consultation, and bringing communities into a process of achieving better solutions for themselves.
The question people will be asked to vote on is: “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
Albanese has outlined that the Voice would be a committee of members chosen by indigenous people. It would be independent of normal politics and would offer advice to Parliament. It wouldn’t have any power to veto laws.
Should the referendum pass, a preferred set-up would be worked out.
But it’s not a straightforward move, beginning with history where the last referendum to be approved was in 1977. Only eight of 44 referendums have succeeded.
The last one to be put to the people - on whether Australia should become a republic - was lost and, as with the New Zealand flag referendum, failure seems to doom such efforts for at least a generation.
As with the flag debate, some people who want change are in the “no” camp because they don’t like what’s being offered. More generally, people pushing for “no” see it as dividing Australians, and a step into the unknown that would be permanent.
Support for the Voice has been trending downwards in opinion polls from an average of about 65 per cent in August last year to about 45 per cent last month. To succeed the referendum needs majorities of voters both nationally and in four of six states.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has said including the Voice in the constitution is divisive and criticised the Government for not providing enough detail. He has also claimed it would slow down the work of government.
Dutton has said if this referendum fails, another - purely on the constitutional recognition of indigenous people - would be held should the Coalition win the next election.
There’s really nothing scary about an advisory group with specialist knowledge and plenty of upside if it can come up with useful ideas. In this general climate of cultural fears it’s not surprising that a sizeable number of Australians would be suspicious of change.