Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of country. I acknowledge and pay respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, on whose ancestral lands we meet. I extend that respect to First Nations people in the chamber watching and listening today. I also acknowledge the traditional owners of my electorate of Corangamite, the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin nation.

The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 is a powerful marker in the journey to reconciliation and respect for First Nations people, their culture, customs and elders past, present and emerging. It's a journey that began long ago in this place. As former prime minister Gough Whitlam so eloquently said, 'All of us as Australians are diminished while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are denied their rightful place in this nation.' This bill is about recognition for First Nations people. It's about building a better nation for all Australians.

We know that for too long First Nations people have suffered from inequity. For too long First Nations people have listened to parliament speak about them rather than with them. And for too long First Nations people have experienced high levels of incarceration, poor educational outcomes and low life expectancy. No Australian should be proud of this. It's time for change. We must try a different path. This bill represents that different path.

The bill presents a form of recognition that is practical and enduring. It begins to repair injustices past and enable us to work together to find meaningful, workable outcomes to entrenched challenges. And it will be our First Nations people who guide us because this is not about politicians; this is about all Australians. It is about justice, compassion and reconciliation. In the words of the Uluru statement:

We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

This bill provides recognition through a new chapter in our Constitution. It will establish a First Nations advisory body to make representations to parliament and the executive government. It will be a new chapter not just in our Constitution but in our nation's history, one built on extensive consultation with our First Nations peoples.

As the Minister for Indigenous Australians stated in this place earlier today, just over six years ago the spirit of this bill was supported by an overwhelming majority of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates who gathered from all points under the southern sky to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Throughout that process, and those that followed, the constitutional amendment provided through this bill will rectify over 120 years of explicit exclusion from Australia's founding legal document for our First Nations people. The Voice and constitutional recognition provide an opportunity to acknowledge our history and come together for a more reconciled future—a future where our founding document recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have occupied this country for more than 60,000 years and represent the oldest continuous culture in human history, a future where our founding document recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have maintained a relationship with land, waters and sky since time immemorial. This bill for a referendum is an acknowledgement of that history, and, if successful, the Voice to Parliament will provide an enduring platform from which First Nations people can make representation to the parliament on matters that affect them. It makes absolute sense.

I have met with First Nations representatives in my region from the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative and the Wathaurong. They are united in their support for the Voice. And I stand side by side with them and thank them for the many conversations we have had. Later this year we will hold a referendum where we will ask the people of Australia to vote on a voice to parliament. This will be an historic moment. We must embrace it. I look forward to the many robust and constructive conversations that I will have in the lead-up to this vote. Now is the time to take the next step and seize the day. In the words of my colleague Senator Patrick Dodson when asked about the timing of this referendum, he said, 'If not now, when? We have been talking about recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in our founding document for decades. Now we have the chance to do it. Let's seize the moment; let's take Australia forward, for everyone.' This bill will enable us to do that.

The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 proposes to insert a new chapter 9, entitled 'Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples'. The introductory words recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of Australia. The words reflect the fact that establishing the Voice is an act of recognition in the manner the delegates at Uluru sought in 2017. Subsection 129(i) provides for the establishment of the Voice. This provision will ensure the Voice is an enduring institution, allowing it to be independent from government and effectively represent views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the national level. The Voice will be an independent representative body. The intention is that its members will be selected by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of local communities.

Subsection 129(ii) sets out the primary function of the Voice: making representations to the parliament and the executive government about matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples could include    matters specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and matters relevant to the Australian community, including general laws or measures, but which affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples differently to other members of the Australian community. The Voice will not be required to make a representation on every law, policy or program. The Voice will determine when to make representations by managing its own priorities and allocating its resources in accordance with the priorities of First Nations people. Critically, the Voice will be proactive. It will not have to wait for the parliament or the executive to seek its views before it can provide them, nor will the constitutional amendment oblige the parliament nor the executive government to consult the Voice before taking action.

The Voice will provide a path for the executive government and the parliament to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Voice will create a critical link between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the parliament and the executive government. Nothing in the provision will hinder the ordinary functioning of the democratic system. While the constitutional nature of the body and its expertise in matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would give weight to the representations of the Voice, those representations would be advisory in nature. It will be a matter for the parliament to determine whether the executive government is under any obligation in relation to representations made by the Voice. There will be no requirement for the parliament or the executive government to follow the Voice's representations. The constitutional amendment confers no power on the Voice to prevent, delay or veto decisions of the parliament or the executive government. The parliament and the executive government will retain final decision-making powers over all laws and policies.

The Voice will enhance our democracy and our democratic institutions. Its representations will ensure the laws, policies and programs from the parliament and the executive are better targeted and more successful. Subsection (iii) provides the parliament with broader power to make laws about matters relating to the Voice. This provision will ensure the Voice can evolve to meet the future needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Australia as a whole. The matters on which the parliament will have power to make laws include processes to select Voice members, the way the Voice performs, its representation-making functions, its potential future functions, the power it needs to carry out those functions; and its procedures, including the mechanics of its relationship with the parliament and the executive government, such as how the parliament and the executive government would receive representations from the Voice. After the referendum, the final details of how the Voice will operate will be settled and legislation will be debated in this parliament.

I am confident the majority of Australians, just like me, want the legitimate voice of First Nations people acknowledged in the Constitution and heard by our nation's parliament and executive government. In closing, Uluru Statement from the Heart asks Australians to walk together to build a better future by establishing a First Nations Voice to Parliament. This bill presents an opportunity to uplift our entire nation, to repair the injustices of the past and to provide a better way forward to close the gap. We must seize this opportunity with both hands. As said in the Uluru Statement from the Heart:

In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

It is now 2023. It is time to accept this generous invitation in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It is time to listen. It is time to act. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by voting yes for a better future for all Australians.

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