Australia sets October date for historic vote on indigenous recognition

SYDNEY, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Australians will vote on October 14 on whether to change the constitution to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, a watershed moment in the country’s fight for indigenous rights.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the milestone date. referendum in Adelaide on Wednesday, describing it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite the nation.

“October 14 is our time… it’s our chance,” Albanese said to a cheering crowd.

“It’s a moment that brings out the best in our Australian character. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people this has been a marathon. For all of us, it’s now a sprint.”

Australians will now face a six-week campaign before they vote in the referendum, where they will be asked if they support amending the constitution to include a “Voice in Parliament”, an indigenous committee to advise the federal parliament on issues affecting indigenous peoples. aborigines and the Torres Strait. Island people.

Any change to the Australian constitution requires a national referendum.

Australia lags behind globally in relations with its indigenous peoples, compared to many other developed nations, including Canada, New Zealand, EU nations, and the US.

It has no treaty with its indigenous peoples, who make up about 3.2% of its nearly 26 million people and are below national averages on most socioeconomic measures.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not mentioned in Australia’s constitution despite having inhabited the land for over 65,000 years.

Pat Anderson, an Aboriginal woman who is co-leading the campaign for change, said most Aboriginal people support Voice in Parliament because they know it will improve outcomes.

“From now until the day of the referendum, we ask everyone to remember that we as First Nations Peoples know what works best for our communities and we believe that One Voice will ultimately be the step to improve the lives of our peoples,” he said. it’s a statement.

The leader of the opposition Liberal Party for Indigenous Affairs, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, said the Voice in Parliament was an “elite proposal” that would divide the country.

“It’s that old rule of divide and conquer that I can’t stand,” he told a televised news conference.

DIVISIVE DEBATE

The government has staked significant political capital on the success of the referendum, with major sports codes, large corporations, religious groups and welfare groups supporting the campaign.

But the public debate on the issue has been divisive and support for the proposal has declined in recent months, according to opinion polls.

Supporters argue that voting yes will help mend strained ties with the Aboriginal community and unite the nation, and the advisory body will help prioritize Aboriginal health, education, employment and housing.

Some opponents, however, argue that the move would divide Australians along racial lines and give excessive power to the indigenous body. Others have described the Voice as a toothless, symbolic body.

The plans failed to secure bipartisan support, and the conservative opposition Liberal Party said it would campaign to vote “No” in the referendum.

However, some senior leaders of the Liberal Party broke ranks and supported the Voice referendum.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose government rejected Voice in Parliament in 2017, says he now supports the plans.

“The Voice offers recognition and respect to indigenous Australians in the way they have sought it,” Turnbull said in an opinion piece in The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.

“On October 14, together we can bend the arc of history a little more towards justice by voting YES,” he said.

HARD REFERENDUM

Referendums in Australia must meet the high bar of “double majority” to be successful. This means it must be supported by more than 50% of voters nationwide and supported by a majority of voters in at least four of the six states.

In the past there have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only eight of them have been approved, the last one in 1977.

In the most recent referendum in 1999, Australians voted against changing the constitution to establish Australia as a republic.

Activists supporting the change launched campaigns across the country, talking to people and offering more information about the proposal.

“I’m just trying to vote yes for recognition of Australia’s true owners,” Oscar Rodas, a Sydney resident who was on one of the campaigns, told Reuters.

“I hope everyone does the same, but the referendum is going to be a really tough choice.”

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