My Reflection on the Voice To Parliament Referendum 2023

 The Australian referendum to recognise Australian Indigenous peoples in the constitution through the establishment of a Voice To Parliament body was quickly defeated. Current counting stands at 60% No.



I voted No. But not against Aboriginal peoples or against recognition. I voted against the Voice To Parliament which was to be given constitutional powers to consult with all levels of Government. While not having any veto power, it's influence would be significant.

My No stance developed over time.  After announcement of the referendum, big business, sporting interests, unions and associations fell over each other to announce support and provide campaign funding. To my mind this could only be the result of a lot of background lobbying of company boards and various management teams.

Then when the legal implications were questioned, the Solicitor General released a carefully crafted and clearly forced statement stating the proposed amendments were legally "safe" in his opinion.

Lastly, the government flatly refused to release any information on the powers it would grant to the Voice and the processes that would be used for operation if the referendum succeeded. A number of reports were available, but these were never endorsed by the government. So we were voting on a principle loaded with implications and no idea where it would lead.

That's history.


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