The Latest Australian Constitutional Values Survey
13.05.2021
Establishing a First Nations Voice to Parliament has been an emerging focus of the push for constitutional recognition of First Nations since 2015. It emerged as a priority for reform from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves, as articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017. The proposed Voice has become the centre of efforts to give First Nations a permanent say in decisions affecting them, and progress meaningful, structural reform to reset the relationship with the State.
New research by CQUniversity and Griffith University as part of the Constitutional Values Survey reveals substantial public support for a First Nations Voice to parliament. This presses the case for action, despite historical political resistance to similar reforms, and possibly diminishing support from within the government. Our research shows that the politicians in this arena may be lagging behind the Australian public.
Evidence of substantial public support for the First Nations Voice proposal, and the strong desire to see it constitutionally, not merely legislatively established, comes at a crucial time, as the federal government’s co-design process hones in on what the Voice should look like and addresses ongoing unresolved questions as to its form (that is, whether it should be established constitutionally, or merely through legislation alone).
Substantial support for a First Nations Voice
In 2017, following the issuing of the Uluru Statement from the Heart to the Australian people, Griffith University’s Australian Constitutional Values Survey showed solid public support. This strong initial response countered claims and concerns by some political leaders and members of the commentariat that the reform was too bold, too ambitious, that First Nations people had ‘over-reached’.
In February 2021, the survey was conducted again, this time by CQUniversity and Griffith University. The survey was conducted online, and gathered responses from a nationally representative sample of over 1,500 Australians.
It shows continuing support for the First Nations Voice to Parliament: over 60 per cent of Australians support the establishment of a Voice in some form. Only one in eight respondents (12 per cent) were opposed to the idea of a First Nations Voice. This left a quarter of respondents undecided - and most of those who were undecided had not heard of the Voice proposal before.
Between the 2017 and 2021 surveys, support for the Voice has remained constant, and even increased slightly. This demonstrates the strength of the proposal, and its resonance with the Australian people. At the time of the 2017 survey, wider public discussion of the Voice was new and had not engaged with the implications and significance of constitutional reform, nor any possible controversies over the specifics of Voice design. In the years between the 2017 and 2021 surveys, debate over whether the Voice should proceed and what form it should take has escalated dramatically.
In the face of this debate, the strong support for the proposal is a testament to how well the idea of a First Nations Voice resonates with the Australian public. Of respondents who had a clear opinion (i.e. excluding ‘undecided’ responses), 83 per cent were in favour of change.
The elevation in the complexity of public debate is likely also represented in the increase in ‘undecided’ responses (up to 25.8 per cent in 2021 from 8.9 per cent in 2017). In this environment, it is noteworthy that the number of people ‘against’ has fallen substantially during these debates.
Why Australians support a First Nations Voice
Asked why they were in favour of a First Nations Voice, most respondents said establishing a First Nations Voice would be the “right thing to do”. Many respondents also acknowledged the Voice’s role in addressing the ongoing effects of European colonisation. Others saw the Voice as a way to recognise the special status of First Nations peoples as the country’s traditional owners.
The reasons that people gave to support the Voice were generally focused on the political and symbolic value of recognising First Nations peoples in the Constitution through the Voice. But respondents also viewed the Voice as an important way of listening to First Nations peoples, improving policies and making a practical difference. Three-quarters of respondents who were in favour of the Voice thought that it was likely to have a practical benefit.
The reasons why people support the Voice had an impact on the form most Australians think the Voice should take.
Preference for constitutional rather than legislated Voice
Voice proposals began as the pathway to meaningful recognition of First Nations peoples in Australia’s Constitution, described by Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson as our “longest standing and unresolved project for justice”.
Certainly, constitutional recognition would require a strong vote in a national referendum. It requires more than 50 per cent of electors in at least 4 states, as well as a national majority. It’s a high bar that has only been reached on a handful of occasions. Although, the highest recorded vote in Australia’s referendum history was over 90 per cent in support, in the historic result of 1967, that allowed government to make laws for Aboriginal people and include them in the reckoning of the Australian people.
Given this high bar, perhaps it is unsurprising that there is ongoing political concern that there is a lack of public support for the proposal. This has led the government to offer a “fallback”, to simply legislate the Voice rather than enshrine it in the Constitution.
In addition to concerns from public law academics and lawyers that legislating the Voice would set it up to fail, our survey indicates this legislative fallback option would fall short of public expectations. Over half of all respondents (51.3%) said they would be in favour of enshrining the Voice via constitutional change. Only a quarter (26.3%) said they would still be in favour of the Voice as only a legislated reform, with no constitutional recognition.
Further, once we account for respondents who indicated they would be in favour of either reform option, but would prefer constitutional change over a legislated Voice, support for the latter drops to 18.6 per cent.
Only 4.5 per cent of respondents were in favour of a legislated Voice but against a constitutional Voice. This indicates that most respondents who are supportive of a First Nations Voice see value in enshrining the body in the Constitution.
With only 21 per cent of Australians against a constitutional Voice - as opposed to 34 per cent against a purely legislated one - there is wide opportunity to pave the way to successful constitutional recognition following the resolution of the co-design process.
Need and appetite for further education
After support for the Voice, the next most chosen option by respondents was ‘undecided’. Further, only 48 per cent of respondents had heard of the idea of the Voice before participating in the survey. These results highlight that there is scope for more public education and engagement on this topic.
The results also indicate that many respondents would be receptive to more education. Half of respondents who were ‘undecided’ said that the reason why was because they felt like they did not know enough or needed more details before they could express an opinion.
While some undecided respondents simply said they wanted to know more, others gave detailed answers, specifically asking about how representatives would be chosen and what benefits the Voice would bring for First Nations peoples.
Some respondents also indicated that they supported the idea of a Voice, but were unsure whether the proposal had the endorsement of First Nations peoples, and therefore selected ‘Undecided’.
Accordingly, while many Australians are still undecided, the results show that there is a healthy appetite to learn more. Further, it appears that if the plan is said to be supported by First Nations people, such as the collective endorsement for a constitutional Voice as outlined in the Uluru Statement, this would make a difference for many of those sitting on the fence.
The potential for a positive 1967-style result therefore remains substantial and real with further public education and engagement.
Creating a First Nations Voice to parliament is now the obvious way forward. The government is committed to establishing it, and general public support is solidifying. But the important lesson to consider is that the core of public support lies in establishing the Voice in the Constitution.
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Dr Jacob Deem is a Lecturer at CQUniversity's Law School.
