The Australian PM outlines the next steps regarding the Indigenous referendum
A proposed federal referendum to legally acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday, as he fought back tears.
Mr. Albanese choked up when speaking to the reporters on television, asking, “If not now, when?”
Mr. Albanese, who was surrounded by many Indigenous people, said, “For many, this moment has been a very long time in the making.” “But they have exhibited such forbearance and optimism throughout this process, and that spirit of cooperation and intelligent, polite conversation has been so crucial to arriving at this place in such a cohesive form.”
Australia wants to give its indigenous people more recognition since the 122-year-old constitution makes no mention of them despite the fact that they have been on the continent for 60,000 years. All changes to the constitution must be put to a nationwide vote.
Indigenous people make up roughly 3.2% of Australia’s population, which is close to 26 million, and they rank worse than the national average on the majority of socioeconomic indicators while also experiencing disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration. According to the terra nullius (nobody’s land) philosophy of the British colonial authorities, Aboriginal people were neglected and did not receive voting rights until the 1960s.
On the referendum, Mr. Albanese has bet a sizable amount of political capital. There have been 44 constitutional amendment proposals put out in 19 referendums since Australia gained its independence in 1901, but only eight have been adopted.
Australians rejected the idea of amending the country’s constitution to establish a republic and appoint a president in place of the British monarch in the most recent referendum in 1999.
The current question will be presented as simply and plainly as possible, according to Mr. Albanese.
Australians will be asked the following referendum question: “An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice would be established as part of a proposed law to amend the Constitution to recognize Australia’s First Peoples.” “Do you agree with the change being proposed?”
The federal government announced on Wednesday that the law to ensure that the referendum voting procedure and voter experience match those of a federal election had cleared the Senate, where it lacks a majority, with bipartisan backing.
The government has not made the funding commitments that the opposition conservative coalition had requested for campaign groups that favor and oppose the referendum.
The “Yes-No Pamphlet,” which presents reasons on both sides, will be distributed to every household, according to the federal government.
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