Emma Garlett: Here is what the Voice to Parliament will do, it’s about a fair go and doing things differently

This is what you have been waiting for, the details of the Voice to Parliament. Here it is. The Voice will give independent advice to the Parliament and Government. The Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of local communities. The Voice will be representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, gender-balanced and include youth. The Voice will be empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful and culturally informed. The Voice will be accountable and transparent. The Voice will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures. The Voice will not have a program delivery function. The Voice will not have a veto power. This is the detail which goes beyond the question what Australians are being asked to vote on as well as the constitutional amendment. It is the closest thing we have right now to guide us to speculate on how the Voice to Parliament will operate. The design principles were developed by the First Nations Referendum Working Group. You can read for yourself the details if you want to in the Government’s information booklet outlining what the Voice will do. Just Google it. In the same way as the eight previous successful Australian referendums, the exact legislation will be decided after Australians say they support a Voice to Parliament by voting Yes. This could mean enshrining the design principles into law if that is what Aussies want. But, before any law is passed through Parliament, consultation will be conducted to finalise the specifics of the Voice to Parliament. If consultation was conducted now, and a Bill drafted and the referendum did not pass then millions of dollars of taxpayer money would have been wasted. And it would mean wasted time and more empty promises to those in our community who want a Voice to Parliament. It would also mean Australia would not be conducting its processes in the same way as previous referendums. That is why we must follow the right process and have a referendum first to determine if Australia will support the aspiration of Indigenous peoples to have a say in matters which affect them through a Voice to Parliament. So, to recap — first step is a referendum, scheduled for October 14. The next step is consultation with everyone. The third step is to introduce legislation to Parliament. Lastly is the implementation of the Voice. After that we can expect results. Quick wins, long terms wins and lives changed because people will get an education, clean drinking water, and we could prevent the next generation getting the same preventable health issues or chronic diseases through the right advice and action. Lastly, I want to answer this question: will the Voice to Parliament take your land? Let’s say, hypothetically the Voice provides advice to hand back Aboriginal people their land. Well, guess what — it is only advice. There is no veto power, which means there is no ability to appeal a decision to not act on the advice provided by the Voice. Governance will remain the business of Parliament and the executive. Parliament is made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate which are representatives of the Australian people. Which means, unless Australians wanted to give Aboriginal people their land back, and politicians championed that wish, then no, the Voice to Parliament will not take your land. The Voice to Parliament is about providing an avenue for Aboriginal people to effectively participate in decision-making to ensure more money is not wasted with no outcomes. We want the gap to close more than anything. That is why we need to give it a shot. The same way of working has repeatedly proven it does not work nor produce results. Without giving the Voice to Parliament a chance, we are accepting our current state and failure to improve the lives of Indigenous people and children. You just need to look at the Northern Territory intervention to understand why a Voice to Parliament is so sorely needed. The operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 was suspended to allow for the intervention to be conducted. Could you imagine the outcry if the same process was conducted on non-Indigenous people in the western suburbs? Decisions such as this have been applied to Aboriginal people — race-based decisions. And past statutory bodies for Aboriginal affairs have not had the outcomes required. We need to give it a go. Isn’t that what Australia is about, giving everyone a fair go? Let’s get this done.