Why I am voting ‘Yes’

Michael Springer

2 years ago

8.6.

I shall subsequently return to 8.6 in a moment, but there are some other matters I wish to initially address.

The excerpt (below) from the Sydney Morning Herald journalist David Crowe is putting politics in its place about #TheVoice, particularly Mr Dutton’s ongoing Trump like blast of misinformation.

#TheVoice is not about politics. #TheVoice is about a simple constitutional change, and there is enough judicial and legal opinion to put to bed the argument about legal challenges. As the retired High Court of Australia (‘HCA’) justice Kenneth Hayne KC AC (‘Justice Hayne’) said in June of this year, the words of #TheVoice are spare and lacking in complexity. 12 retired Supreme Court judges from each Australian state have publicly endorsed #TheVoice along with the retired former HCA chief justice Robert French AC (‘French CJ’). The Victorian and New South Wales Bar Associations support #TheVoice, as does the Law Council of Australia. As Justice Hayne also stated, even if there was a future legal challenge to a Commonwealth law it would be only on the grounds of judicial review because #TheVoice representations were excluded, and the HCA would simply say go back and receive the representations. Parliament and the Executive are not bound by the representations. As French CJ also said a few months ago, common sense will prevail.

#TheVoice addresses two issues in the Commonwealth Constitution (‘CC’). The first issue is the recognition of First Nations as the first people of Australia. The second issue is the provision for a First Nations body to make representations to the Parliament and the Executive. #TheVoice does not have any powers of veto over Parliament or the Executive. To quell some of the disinformation on social media, you will not lose your backyards, and First Nations will not hold superior constitutional rights over non-First Nations. S.51xxvi of the CC allows Parliament to make beneficial and detrimental laws specifically about First Nations, therefore it is only fair they have CC recognition of making mere representations about those laws. 1967 did not cure the race problem in the CC regarding s.51xxvi of the CC. 1967 was an amendment to give Parliament legislative supremacy over the state parliaments regarding First Nations, particularly as Queensland and Western Australia would not close their First Nations reservations. First Nations were not even recognised in the Census at that time. However, 1967 did not provide for the necessary CC provision of at the very least representations being received from First Nations when the CC still permitted a special racial legislative power to make laws only about them.

The necessity for such a simple amendment to include #TheVoice in the CC is because federal politicians of all brands have not over the past 56 years either consulted with First Nations properly about the special laws they have made for them, nor have they properly received representations from First Nations about those special laws. This failure also extends to the execution of policy by the Executive (of any political brand).

Now I shall return to 8.6. The federal legislative and administrative history regarding the treatment of First Nations in Australia has still been unsatisfactory since 1967. That is why we have an average life expectancy for non-First Nations exceeding the life expectancy of First Nations in the case of males by 8.6 years and females by 7.8 years. #TheVoice is a positive step forward to cure the CC and socioeconomic disadvantages First Nations face. A legislative voice alone can be easily torn down by the vicissitudes of either opportunistic or knee jerk politics. The former Howard Government Indigenous Affairs Minister Amanda Vanstone has admitted it was a mistake to have abolished the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (‘ATSIC’) in its entirety (source The Australian). Notwithstanding any internal administrative problems with ATSIC, it was delivering regional solutions for First Nations disadvantage. The tearing down of ATSIC sufficiently illustrates the inadequacy of there being only a legislative voice.

When I read the data about life expectancy alone, I know there is a federal legislative and administrative problem.

#TheVoice is a positive step forward for Australia, and #TheVoice unifies us a nation. #TheVoice is a small step for non-First Nations Australians, but it is a major step for the hearts of First Nations.

8.6. That is why I am voting #Yes.