{"id":5523,"date":"2023-04-05T15:46:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T15:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5523"},"modified":"2023-04-05T15:46:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T15:46:44","slug":"australian-opposition-to-indigenous-voices-in-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/asia\/asia-pacific\/australian-opposition-to-indigenous-voices-in-parliament\/2023\/04\/05\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Opposition to Indigenous Voices in Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA,<\/span> Australia<\/span> (AP)<\/span> By Dr. Majid Khan–<\/span> Australia’s<\/span> main<\/span> opposition<\/span> parties<\/span> decided<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> to<\/span> oppose<\/span> the<\/span> government’s<\/span> constitutional<\/span> recognition<\/span> model<\/span> for<\/span> indigenous<\/span> peoples.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Since<\/span> 1977,<\/span> there<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> no<\/span> successful<\/span> referendum<\/span> to<\/span> amend<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> Constitution,<\/span> and<\/span> bipartisan<\/span> support<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> major<\/span> political<\/span> parties<\/span> is<\/span> widely<\/span> seen<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> prerequisite<\/span> for<\/span> success.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> lawmakers<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Liberal<\/span> Party,<\/span> the<\/span> second<\/span> largest<\/span> Conservative<\/span> party<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> ruling<\/span> centre-left<\/span> Labor<\/span> Party,<\/span> said<\/span> they<\/span> would<\/span> oppose<\/span> the<\/span> government’s<\/span> proposal<\/span> to<\/span> create<\/span> so-called<\/span> indigenous<\/span> voices<\/span> in<\/span> parliament.<\/span> Boyce<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> an<\/span> elected<\/span> group<\/span> tasked<\/span> with<\/span> representing<\/span> Aboriginal<\/span> interests<\/span> in<\/span> parliament,<\/span> but<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> vote<\/span> on<\/span> legislation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Opposition<\/span> leader<\/span> Peter<\/span> Dutton<\/span> said<\/span> lawmakers<\/span> wanted<\/span> tribal<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> represented<\/span> by<\/span> regional<\/span> and<\/span> local<\/span> ‘voices’<\/span> rather<\/span> than<\/span> the<\/span> voice<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> capital,<\/span> Canberra.<\/span> Dutton<\/span> said<\/span> senior<\/span> Liberal<\/span> MPs<\/span> would<\/span> support<\/span> a<\/span> ‘no’<\/span> vote<\/span> if<\/span> Australians<\/span> are<\/span> expected<\/span> to<\/span> hold<\/span> a<\/span> referendum<\/span> on<\/span> whether<\/span> to<\/span> include<\/span> the<\/span> vote<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> constitution<\/span> between<\/span> October<\/span> and<\/span> December.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Dutton<\/span> told<\/span> reporters:<\/span> “Establishing<\/span> a<\/span> separate<\/span> national<\/span> body<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> Canberra,<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> is<\/span> proposing,<\/span> will<\/span> divide<\/span> our<\/span> country,<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> unite,<\/span> and<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> produce<\/span> results<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> ground.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Australia’s<\/span> Minister<\/span> for<\/span> Indigenous<\/span> Peoples,<\/span> Linda<\/span> Burney,<\/span> said<\/span> she<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> Indigenous<\/span> woman<\/span> to<\/span> play<\/span> the<\/span> role,<\/span> but<\/span> she<\/span> stuck<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> wording<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> referendum<\/span> question<\/span> and<\/span> expressed<\/span> her<\/span> confidence<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> referendum<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> successful.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“We’ve<\/span> worked<\/span> hard,<\/span> we’ve<\/span> worked<\/span> hard,<\/span> we’ve<\/span> worked<\/span> hard<\/span> to<\/span> ensure<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> questions<\/span> and<\/span> proposed<\/span> amendments<\/span> provide<\/span> what’s<\/span> intended<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> voice<\/span> and<\/span> are<\/span> very<\/span> clear<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> role<\/span> of<\/span> Congress,”<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span> Said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> National<\/span> Party,<\/span> a<\/span> Liberal<\/span> junior<\/span> her<\/span> partner<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> coalition<\/span> government,<\/span> announced<\/span> last<\/span> November<\/span> that<\/span> its<\/span> MPs<\/span> were<\/span> opposing<\/span> Boyce<\/span> on<\/span> grounds<\/span> including<\/span> racially<\/span> dividing<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> population.<\/span> A<\/span> poll<\/span> published<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> newspaper<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> found<\/span> that<\/span> 54%<\/span> of<\/span> respondents<\/span> supported<\/span> Voice’s<\/span> proposal<\/span> and<\/span> 38%<\/span> opposed<\/span> it.<\/span> The<\/span> poll<\/span> is<\/span> based<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> poll<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> 4,756<\/span> voters<\/span> from<\/span> February<\/span> 1<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> April<\/span> 3.<\/span> The<\/span> error<\/span> rate<\/span> is<\/span> less<\/span> than<\/span> 3<\/span> percent.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Many<\/span> have<\/span> suggested<\/span> that<\/span> public<\/span> support<\/span> must<\/span> be<\/span> increased<\/span> in<\/span> order<\/span> to<\/span> change<\/span> the<\/span> constitution.<\/span> Originally<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> Torres<\/span> Strait<\/span> Archipelago<\/span> off<\/span> the<\/span> northeast<\/span> coast,<\/span> Australian<\/span> Aborigines<\/span> are<\/span> culturally<\/span> distinct<\/span> from<\/span> mainland<\/span> Aborigines.<\/span> Her<\/span> two<\/span> races<\/span> make<\/span> up<\/span> her<\/span> 3.2%<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> population,<\/span> making<\/span> her<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> disadvantaged<\/span> ethnic<\/span> group<\/span> in<\/span> Australia.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Voice<\/span> was<\/span> originally<\/span> proposed<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> group<\/span> of<\/span> Aboriginal<\/span> and<\/span> Torres<\/span> Strait<\/span> Islander<\/span> advocates<\/span> in<\/span> 2017.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Changing<\/span> the<\/span> Australian<\/span> Constitution<\/span> has<\/span> never<\/span> been<\/span> easy.<\/span> Of<\/span> his<\/span> 44<\/span> referendums<\/span> held<\/span> since<\/span> 1901,<\/span> only<\/span> eight<\/span> of<\/span> them<\/span> actually<\/span> took<\/span> place.<\/span> Constitutional<\/span> lawyer<\/span> George<\/span> Williams,<\/span> author<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> history<\/span> book<\/span> on<\/span> Australia’s<\/span> referendum,<\/span> said<\/span> this<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> mean<\/span> that<\/span> bipartisanship<\/span> is<\/span> essential<\/span> to<\/span> future<\/span> success.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cThere<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> no<\/span> referendum<\/span> for<\/span> about<\/span> 20<\/span> years,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> political<\/span> environment<\/span> is<\/span> very<\/span> different<\/span> from<\/span> previous<\/span> referendums,<\/span> with<\/span> rusty<\/span> votes<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> major<\/span> parties<\/span> much<\/span> lower<\/span> than<\/span> in<\/span> any<\/span> previous<\/span> referendum,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> I<\/span> was.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) By Dr. Majid Khan– Australia’s main opposition parties decided Wednesday to oppose the government’s constitutional recognition model for indigenous peoples. Since 1977, there has been no successful referendum to amend the Australian Constitution, and bipartisan support from the major political parties is widely seen as a prerequisite for success. But lawmakers from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2403,280,1566],"tags":[1606,3362,1620,1748,1750,1898,2523,2524,2525,2526,2528,2531,2920,3045,1574,3046,1604,3360,1605,3361],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/aus.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5526,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5523\/revisions\/5526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}