On 30 October 2020, The Hon Ken Wyatt AM MP (Mr Wyatt) announced the beginning of the Indigenous Voice co-design process. The Indigenous voice co-design Process Interim Report (the Report) was handed to the Hon Ken Wyatt in October by the Senior Advisory group.

On 9 January 2021, the Government launched stage two of the co-design process by releasing the interim report and beginning a four-month consultation process about the proposed voice models.

Individuals, communities and organisations are invited to provide feedback either by completing a survey or entering a submission. Submissions close on 31 March 2021 and the survey will close at the end of the engagement period on 9 May 2021.

This article summarises the proposals and responses.

Summary

Currently, there are proposals for (1) a Local and Regional Voice and (2) a National Voice:

“Local and Regional Voice Proposal:

That a regional level governance structure:

  • Be designed and led by communities
  • Provide advice to all levels of government to make plans on how to meet community aspirations and deliver on local priorities
  • Provide local views to the National Voice where this informs national issues.

National Voice Proposal:

That a national body made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that:

  • Could provide advice to the Australian Parliament and Government on relevant laws, policies, and programs.
  • Could engage early on with Australian Parliament and Government in the development of relevant policies and laws.”[1]

Further detail on proposed Local and Regional Voice structure

There is no requirement for the local and regional voice to have a set structure. Different regions can create structures that are best suited to their local community. The report proposes 25-35 local and regional voice regions across Australia.

The recommendation is a flexible principals-based framework. This could include the following features:

  • Clear ways for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities, and organisations in the region to get involved and have more of a say.
  • Allow for local priorities to be addressed at the local level.
  • An agreed way to work together in partnership with governments (e.g. partnership meetings)

Further detail on proposed National Voice Structure

Membership for the National Voice could happen in two different ways:

  • ‘Structurally linked’ – selected from local and regional voices or
  • ‘Directly elected’ – where elections are held for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to elect national voice members.

Members would represent their States, Territories and the Torres Strait Islands.

The National voice could include the following features:

  • Consist of up to 20 members, with guaranteed gender balance of members.
  • Include Youth and Disability Advisory Groups to ensure voices of these groups are heard.
  • Connect with Local and Regional Voices to provide views from local communities.
  • Work with existing bodies structures and organisations.
  • Advise on national matters that are critically important to the social spiritual and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Response to the Report

In response to the Report, Mr Wyatt noted that “the best outcomes are achieved when Indigenous Australians are at the centre of decision‑making. We know that for too long decision making treated the symptoms rather than the cause.”[2] This sentiment has been echoed in media, political and academic conversation surrounding the public release of the report.

In October 2020, prior to the release of the report, Ms Pat Turner, Co-Chairperson of the Joint Council in Closing the Gap, cautioned against the risk of an Indigenous voice to parliament, as proposed in the Uluru Statement from the heart, being subverted into a “voice to government”.  Ms Turner warned that the latter is “likely to be disjointed, conflicted, and thus counterproductive”.[3]

Ms Turner, who is also a member of the senior advisory group, elucidated that an essential foundational element is to prevent “the indigenous voice from being applied only at the discretion of governments when and on what governments determine”.[4]

Professor Megan Davis, a Cobble Cobble Aboriginal woman and the Balnaves Chair in constitutional law, echoes Ms Turner’s concerns regarding the interim report preferencing a “voice to government”. However, Professor Davis is very encouraging of the co-design process and highlights that “self-determination is at the core of democratic governance.”[5] Professor Davis notes that the important consultation process should not be muddied by a “legislate first, enshrine later debate” and emphasises the need to enshrine the voice to parliament in the constitution by referring to it as a ‘vision of unity’.[6]

Mr Tom Calma, the Co-chair of the senior advisory group, commented that “the key thing is to create a forum in which dialogue between political decision makers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can take place because it doesn’t happen at the moment and it needs to happen.”[7]

Information and documents regarding the Indigenous Voice co-design process can be accessed from the NIAA website.

Endnotes

[1] See https://voice.niaa.gov.au/.

[2] The Hon Ken Whyatt AM MP. ‘Have your say on Indigenous Voice proposals’ (Media Release, 9 January 2021) https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/wyatt/2021/have-your-say-indigenous-voice-proposals.

[3] Hurst, Daniel. ‘Indigenous voice to parliament: Pat Turner urges PM to show ‘a bit of backbone’, The Guardian (online, 30 September 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/30/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-pat-turner-urges-pm-to-show-a-bit-of-backbone.

[4] Hurst, Daniel. ‘Indigenous voice to parliament: Pat Turner urges PM to show ‘a bit of backbone’, The Guardian (online, 30 September 2020) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/30/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-pat-turner-urges-pm-to-show-a-bit-of-backbone.

[5]Davis, M. ‘Our Indigenous voice is just waiting to be heard’. The Australian (online, 16 January 2021) < https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/our-indigenous-voice-is-just-waiting-to-be-heard/news-story/1f8c05d20d90bd11bb535e34e04df64c>.

[6] Davis, M. ‘Our Indigenous voice is just waiting to be heard’. The Australian (online, 16 January 2021) < https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/our-indigenous-voice-is-just-waiting-to-be-heard/news-story/1f8c05d20d90bd11bb535e34e04df64c>.

[7] Dingwall, D. ‘Indigenous Voice to Parliament would create much-needed dialogue with government: Tom Calma’. New Castle Herald (online, 15 January 2021) < https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7085668/how-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-works/>.