Australia sets up Indigenous Voice to consult parliament

Australia's black, red and yellow Aboriginal flag left flies above Australia's national flag over the Harbour Bridge in Sydney on July 11, 2022. PHOTO AFP SYDNEY - The Australian government on Thursday set up an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to advise lawmakers on matters that affect their lives and take the first formal step towards holding a referendum to recognize Indigenous people in the constitution.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the referendum, to be held between October and December, would be an opportunity to acknowledge history and help Australians come together for a more reconciled future. Dreyfus said that the country will be on the path to a better direction because we will stand with a clean heart and a clean conscience.

Australians will be asked if they want to change the constitution to create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, a consultative committee that provides non-binding advice to parliament on matters that affect them.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the question the government wants to set in the referendum last week and urged Australians to back what he described as a long overdue vote.

Australia's Aboriginal people, making up about 3.2 percent of the near 26 million population, are less than national averages on most socio-economic measures and are not mentioned in the 122 year-old constitution. They were marginalised by British colonial rulers and were not granted voting rights until the 1960s.

The bill is expected to be referred to a joint select committee for consideration by the end of June.

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The main opposition liberal party has not yet decided if it will support the proposed constitutional amendments, but its junior coalition partner, the Rural-based National Party, has said it will oppose them. The Greens party and some independent lawmakers have promised to support the Yes campaign.

A Guardian poll last week showed that the public support for the referendum was down 5 percent, but still backed by a majority, with 59 percent in favor.

Any constitutional amendments in Australia require a national referendum. A majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states are required to succeed a referendum.