U4AOS2Topic 14: The 2023 Voice Referendum

Key Knowledge Dot Point:

1. The significance of the 1967 referendum about First Nations people and the 2023 referendum about an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Details about the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum:

1. The 2023 Voice Referendum proposed the constitutional enshrining of a Voice to Parliament, which in essence, is an advisory body comprised of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives chosen by First Nations communities that would provide independent advice and suggestions to the Commonwealth government during the law-making process. The purpose of this was to allow First Nations communities to have a say on the policies and laws that affect them, allowing for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not mentioned anywhere in the Australian Constitution.
2. Once the referendum proposal had been announced, there was a lack of bipartisan support. Specifically, the opposition, led by Peter Dutton, had launched a 'no' campaign against the proposal.

Proposed changes to the wording of the Australian Constitution:

1. The 2023 Voice to Parliament sought to amend the Constitution by adding s.129 that states: i) there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; ii) the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; iii) the Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

Outcome of the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum:

1. The 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum failed.
2. The majority of voters Australia-wide were not in favour of the change, with 60.06% of votes being 'No' and 39.94% of votes being 'Yes'.
3. The majority of states across Australia were not in favour of the change, with ACT being the only state to have a majority 'Yes' vote in favour of the proposed change.

The Significance of the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum:

1. The 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum highlighted an important historical trend: the lack of bipartisan support has a significant impact on the likelihood of a referendum proposal being successful. A research paper published by the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods highlighted that the vote was tied closely with the positions of the two major political parties: the Australian Labour Party and the Liberal Party of Australia. Historically, all of the 8 successful referendums had bipartisan support.
2. Constitutional recognition of First Nations people had significant support by First Nations people. Data from the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum suggests suggests that a high 'yes' vote was popular amongst Aboriginal communities. Moreover, broad, general support in relation to advancing First Nations peoples' rights was shown to have strong support, despite the strong 'no' results.
3. Nature of the proposal may have potentially influenced the way people perceived the change -- it is possible that many Australians simply did not understand the changes that the proposal would have made, and hence, this may have influenced the results. Generally, Australians do not have a detailed understanding of the Australian Constitution and therefore may not be able to understand the implications of the proposal in the first place. The impact of this may have been exacerbated by the strong 'No' campaign, with the message 'if you don't know, vote no' being bombarded on many social media and news outlets.
4. Some suggest that racism, whether it be conscious or unconscious, could have been another factor that impacted the way people voted. Misinformation is rife in today's age and given the way algorithms that cater content to what a person has viewed previously, this could lead to people being susceptible to echo chambers of misinformation.

Note for students:

1. The key skills section in relation to this dot point states: "discuss the ability of the Australian people to change the Australian Constitution, including in relation to past and future constitutional reform.". Since they have explicitly stated the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum as one that you need to learn, they can ask this question in relation to that specifically. E.g. "Discuss the ability of the Australian people to change the Australian Constitution with reference to the 2023 Voice Referendum." Thus, you need to understand the 'significance' points very well and with reference to the Australian people's ability to influence change in the Australian Constitution. This question is likely to also be a high marker, and can be a 10 marker too on your SACs/exams so make sure you revise it well! Many people will find answering a high-mark question about this topic difficult.