Australia’s Senate on Monday June 19 gave the green light to organize a historic referendum to give Aboriginal people a ‘vote’ in Parliament, a project that is dividing the country. Passed by 52 votes to 19, the bill will allow Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to set a date for the referendum to amend the Constitution soon.
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Mr Albanese’s government believes Australians have an opportunity to right centuries of injustice against Aboriginal people and give them a voice in decision-making. The referendum will be a turning point for the country, said Indigenous Minister Linda Burney, an Aboriginal leader. “I’m feeling very emotional,” she told ABC.
If passed, Australian Aborigines, whose ancestors have lived on the continent for at least 60,000 years, would have a constitutional right to be consulted by the government on laws affecting their communities. The approximately 900,000 of Australia’s 25 million people who identify as Aboriginal people are represented by an advisory body in Parliament.
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“It’s about our identity as a nation,” said Albanese, who welcomed the passage of the bill in the Senate. “Today our Senate approved the organization of a referendum and welcomed the Labor Party. (…) Now the Australian people will have the opportunity to say ‘yes’ to reconciliation and ‘yes’ to constitutional recognition of First Nations peoples. »
“Appease White Guilt”
But the “vote in parliament” debate is heating up as conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton denounces racial divisions in the country. “It will have an Orwellian effect [qui verra] all Australian [être] same, but some Australians [être] equal than others,” he said earlier in the year.
Even among the Australian natives, the project is not unanimous. For independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, a prominent Indigenous activist, it’s all about creating a “powerless advisory body.” “That’s what this is about: alleviating white guilt in this country,” she lamented Monday.
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For more than a century, Aborigines were not considered full citizens, and although their rights are now enshrined in law, deep inequalities remain. This minority is struggling with more difficult living conditions: they have poorer access to health care and education, shorter life expectancy, lower wages and a high rate of incarceration.
While early polls predicted most Australians would vote in favor of the plan, recent polls show support is falling as political debate intensifies. Indigenous rights advocate Pat Anderson called for more “maturity” in the debates. “The Australian people will decide what kind of country we are and what we stand for,” she said. What are our values? Who are we ? We will vote on that soon. »