Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The question of sovereignty was put directly to the constitutional expert group, and the group advised unanimously that enshrining a voice in the Constitution would not affect the sovereignty of any group or body.

Some senators suggested that this bill has been rushed and that the processes that led to it have somehow been lacking. It is difficult to identify a pre-referendum process since Federation that can hold a candle to the consultation and consideration that has led to this bill. We have been talking about this and considering the detail of proposals to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution for well over a decade. Since 2010, there have been: the expert panel on the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution; the Joint Select Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; the Referendum Council led First Nations regional dialogues; the national First Nations constitutional convention at Uluru; the final report of the Referendum Council; the Joint Select Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; and the co-design interim and final reports. The Prime Minister's announcement at Garma last year built on this work, and the government engaged in further robust consultation. A referendum engagement group and a referendum working group made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders were then established to advise government, supported by a group of constitutional experts, including a former High Court judge.

As a result of that process, some changes were made to the Prime Minister's Garma draft. Those changes were not extensive, but they were significant. The changes ensure that parliament will have broad and flexible powers to set up the Voice and respond as it evolves. The revised wording was then subjected to yet another process of public debate and scrutiny, including through the joint select committee's inquiry. The joint select committee recommended, after reviewing significant evidence through hearings and submissions, that the bill be passed unamended. The content has been extensively debated in the other place. Now, we are debating the words of the alteration in the Senate.

Australians can have confidence in this constitutional amendment. They can have confidence in the process that brought it into place. They can have confidence that constitutional recognition through a voice to parliament will work to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Uluru Statement from the Heart concludes with the following words:

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 has been a long journey to get to this point. It will be up to the Australian people to take the next step, to move forward together and create a better future for us all.