Megan Davis

09.07.21

It is common practice in constitution making around the world that detail of a particular constitutional institution is deferred to the parliament at a later date. Indeed, this was the case with Australia’s High Court. The Court was established and its core functions set out in the Constitution in 1901, but it was set up two years later in legislation by the Parliament.  

The same idea applies to the First Nations Voice. As Sean Brennan’s post explains …

Ron Levy

08.07.21

If and when the Australian people go to a referendum on whether to constitutionally enshrine a First Nations Voice, they will express their views on a ballot paper. For many Australians, they will never have seen a referendum ballot; for others, it will be over 20 years.

Can design of the referendum ballot lead to a more informed and deliberative engagement of voters with the question at hand? This matters because informed consent, not just consent, by citizens …

Paul Kildea

07.07.21

Momentum is building towards a referendum for a constitutionalised First Nations Voice. Optimists look back to the 1967 referendum, when more than 90 per cent of Australians voted to include Aboriginal people in the powers of the Commonwealth. But Australia’s overall referendum record is daunting: just 8 of 44 referendums have passed since Federation. What steps can we take to help ensure a successful referendum on a First Nations Voice …

Sean Br​ennan

06.07.21

One challenge on the path to a successful Voice referendum is to get the wording right for the constitutional amendment. The most important thing is clarity: a well-defined purpose, and clear and simple words that give effect to that purpose. The work here is largely done. The vision for practical reform that emerged from the Regional Dialogues and at Uluru supplies the purpose for this constitutional amendment. The delegates at Uluru called for a representative First Nations institution that would give them a voice – particularly to the nation’s chief law-making body, the …

Elisa Arcioni

05.07.21

Creating an Indigenous Voice in ordinary legislation is creating a fundamentally different thing to establishing it, or “enshrining” or “protecting” it, in the Constitution. And if we consider what the intention of the Voice is, only constitutional enshrinement makes sense.

The First Nations Voice called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart is intended to be an institutional vehicle through which First Nations peoples can speak to government and …

Gabrielle Appleby & John Williams

25.03.2021

All constitutional settlements are a product of their time, place and history, and of the values, knowledge and aspirations of their drafters. In navigating the reality and ambitions of the settlement, drafters will, of course, draw on what they know. A sensible attempt at a new constitutional settlement should be anchored in deep reflection of what has gone before. But …

18.03.2021

This is a submission that was made to the consultation process on the Interim Report to the Australian Government on Indigenous Voice Co-Design Process (October 2020) by a group of 40 public law experts from across the country. That consultation process closes on 31 March 2021. The submission expresses a strong and unanimous view that for the Voice to have legitimacy, …