AFTER OVER a century of protests, resistance and campaigning, the indigenous peoples of Australia-most commonly known as the First Nations, Australian Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander people, are a step closer to achieving what possibly could amount to some degree of political autonomy and representation for their communities. 

The Australian government is setting out plans for a referendum later this year that could give recognition in the Australian constitution to indigenous peoples in parliament. 

In what has been called the Indigenous Voice, this measure could grant First Nations peoples a greater say in laws passed in the Australian parliament.

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament was first proposed in 2017 as an advisory body by the Uluru Statement from the Heart under the organisation Uluru Dialogue. 

It was written and endorsed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders to improve the representation of indigenous Australians. 

The Voice will comprise a national group of 20 members of First Nations descent. 

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament will advise the Australian government on indigenous policy matters related to health, education, economic inequality and social issues. 

This proposal was taken up in 2022 by the current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who pledged following his election victory to implement an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in 2023.  

But will this make a difference? 

Even though there is currently majority support for the referendum, there are questions over the representation that it provides and its ability to make a difference to the lives of indigenous Australians who have suffered for over a century under European colonisation.

Before the European invasion of Australia in 1788 there were more than 250 nations/ethnic groups spread across a population of over 750,000 people that had lived in Australia for over 65,000 years. 

By the 20th century their population had fallen to just 93,000 people and today they make up 3.5% of a population of 20 million people.

The British colonisation of Australia was devastating for indigenous Australians. This was characterised by the violent dispossession of lands particularly in the island of Tasmania where indigenous peoples were hunted like sport almost to extinction. 

Additionally, the introduction of foreign diseases such as measles, smallpox and tuberculosis to which indigenous populations had little immunity killed destroyed whole communities. 

The indigenous population was segregated from the White colonial settlements and in an act of cultural genocide, many indigenous children (particularly those who were light skinned) were forcibly taken away from their families to foster homes to be raised by white families or put in the care system which was characterised by many reported abuses. 

This happened between the 1890s and 1970s and the traumatic effects on this Stolen Generation is still felt to this day. 

Even after Australia gained independence, the situation of indigenous Australians did not improve. 

Poverty is endemic and many have poor educational and healthcare services. Unemployment, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence and mental illness are all significant issues that have their roots back to the 1788 invasion. 

Police brutality is a problem and indigenous children are still up to 24 times more likely to be detained than their White counterparts in modern Australia.  

In light of these historical issues there are unresolved questions about the referendum. 

Australia’s Liberal Party has announced that they will oppose the form that the Indigenous Voice to parliament takes. The Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton has argued that the Prime Minister is dividing the country through the referendum. 

Mr Dutton has argued that it is far more effective to have the government working at the local level with indigenous leaders and communities to deliver the best outcomes rather than creating what may be seen as a centralised distant advisory group to parliament. 

In addition to this there are indigenous people who have been scarred by decades of programmes and political agendas that did more harm to their communities than it helped. 

These groups question the effectiveness of this initiative reflecting the issue of distrust among indigenous communities towards the Australian government. 

Teela Reid, a lawyer and storyteller of Weilwan and Wiradjuri Aboriginal descent is cautiously optimistic, arguing: “We want some serious, hard, systemic change. We want racism to stop in our nation. We want people’s hearts and minds to change in this process.” 

Ultimately it comes down to how well the Indigenous Voice to parliament represents the First Nations people of Australia which is something that Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a human rights activist of Bundjalung Aboriginal descent is concerned about.

Ms Turnbull-Roberts argues that indigenous Australians have always had a voice, but it was never listened to, and that the referendum is being rushed through while many indigenous community voices are being neglected from the conversation. 

In particular on the matter of treaties of which a national treaty has been pushed further and further away from the heart of discussion on indigenous rights in Australia. 

She adds that there are indigenous voices who have been left out of the conversation regarding this matter. 

The Queensland treaty advancement committee co-chair Dr Jackie Huggins argues that treaties are crucial towards mending the fabric of Australian society and if done right could address deep structural issues and could allow indigenous people to control their own affairs.

Despite this there are others such as the Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney who states that the Voice will be a way for indigenous Australians to advise the government at all levels about laws and policies that affect their lives. She says “It’s about drawing a line on the poor outcomes from the long legacy of failed programs and broken policies, and listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Time will tell whether the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will succeed in addressing the deeply entrenched inequalities that confront Australia’s First Nation people. 

If Australians vote “yes” to the establishment of the Voice, significant efforts will need to be put into building trust and legitimacy and bringing in other indigenous voices that have not been represented. The issue of treaties should be looked at with a vision of creating an Australia that could meet the needs of indigenous Australians a lot better than the last 235 years since the invasion.