SYDNEY (Portal) – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fought back tears on Thursday as he unveiled the question the government plans to ask in a referendum on whether to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the country’s constitution .
“If not now, then when?” Albanese asked, choking during a televised media conference while standing next to several indigenous leaders who supported the proposal.
“For many … this moment lasted a very long time,” Albanese said. “Nevertheless, they have shown so much patience and optimism throughout this process, and that spirit of collaboration and thoughtful, respectful dialogue have been so important in getting to this point so united.”
Australia is trying to give more credit to its indigenous people, who have inhabited the continent for 60,000 years but are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution.
Aboriginal people, who make up about 3.2% of Australia’s nearly 26 million people, fall below the national average on most socioeconomic measures and suffer disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.
Marginalized by the British colonial rulers’ doctrine of terra nullius – no man’s land – Aborigines were not granted the right to vote until the 1960s.
Albanese urged Australians, who are called to vote between October and December, to amend the constitution to set up an advisory committee in Parliament called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.
It would provide non-binding advice to Parliament on matters affecting First Nations people.
The government will table the bill next week and hopes to have it passed in Parliament by the end of June. Any constitutional change requires a national referendum.
CONTRADICTION SEEKS DETAILS
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said the government has still not responded to his questions about the workings of the advisory body and that he needs more details.
“We will decide in due course whether we support or oppose the Voice,” Dutton told reporters.
The rural-based National Party, the junior partner in the opposition coalition, has said it will oppose the vote, while the left-wing Green Party and some independent lawmakers have pledged support.
A Guardian poll conducted on Tuesday showed that public support for the referendum fell by 5% but was still backed by a majority, with 59% in favour.
Albanese invested significant political capital in the referendum. Since Australia’s independence in 1901, there have been 44 constitutional amendment proposals in 19 referendums, of which only eight have been adopted.
In the last referendum in 1999, Australians voted against amending the constitution to create a republic and replace the British monarch as head of state with a president.
Opponents criticized the wording of that referendum, and Albanese said he wanted to make the current issue as simple and clear as possible.
The referendum question to be put to Australians will be: “A proposed law: amending the Constitution to recognize the first peoples of Australia by creating a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Do you agree with this proposed amendment?”.
The federal government said on Wednesday the law passed the Senate — where it lacks a majority — with bipartisan support to ensure the voting process for the referendum mirrors that of a federal election.
The opposition Conservative coalition had called for funding for campaign groups that support and oppose the referendum, but the government has not pledged.
The federal government said the “Yes-No” brochure with arguments on both sides would be sent to all households.
Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Edited by Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast.
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