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

Senator Thorpe proposes to amend the bill before the Senate so that the proposed constitutional alteration would insert a new section 130 in the Constitution about the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The government does not support the amendment proposed by Senator Thorpe. There is no need to amend the bill as proposed by Senator Thorpe. The Voice provision would have no impact on sovereignty. This question was put directly to the Constitutional Expert Group, and they advised that enshrining a voice in the Constitution would not affect the sovereignty of any group or body.