Lets face it. We want our countrys business leaders to be well-informed. And there's no doubt the "water-cooler" topics being discussed by your stakeholders will increasingly include The Voice referendum.

In late 2023 Australians will be asked to do a rare and important task.

We will vote yes or no on a single question that has the power to change the Constitution.

This question is whether to add into the Constitution just 10 lines of text recognising Indigenous peoples with a Voice to Parliament.

Growth Faculty presented a free opportunity to join in our i[nterview with authors of The Voice to Parliament Handbook ](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/interviewVoiceToParliament)Thomas Mayo and Kerry OBrien.

Their straightforward guide sets out to help Australians understand what a Voice to Parliament and constitutional recognition actually means.

_It is a life-or-death situation for many Indigenous people, so all Australians should be properly informed before they vote._

In simple terms, Mayo and OBrien explained The Voice to Parliament, what the purpose of The Voice is, and information about The Voice to Parliament referendum.

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Interview Explaining the Indigenous Voice to Parliament

The proposed law that Australians are being asked to approve at the referendum _broadly_ states that, in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia,

* there will be a body called the _Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice_ , 
  * which may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government on matters relating to these peoples, 
  * and the Parliament shall have the power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Voice, including its composition, functions, powers, and procedures.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice would be an independent and permanent advisory body.

It would give advice to the Australian Parliament and Government on matters that affect the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

This includes issues such as education, health, housing, justice and other policies with a practical impact on First Nations people.

What Does the Voice to Parliament Mean?

If the referendum passes, there would be a process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the Parliament and the broader public to settle the Voice design.

Legislation to establish the Voice would then go through standard parliamentary processes to ensure adequate scrutiny by elected representatives in both houses of Parliament.

This would ensure the Voice can evolve and adapt as circumstances change, while upholding the authority of Parliament to legislate the Voice.

How will the Voice to Parliament work?

The referendum is only about establishing the principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should have a Voice. The rest will be determined by the Parliament.

However, the authors of the handbook say The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice would not be another layer of bureaucracy.

_Rather, it would hold the existing bureaucracy to account, and make representations to the government and the Parliament in pursuit of better outcomes for Indigenous people and better targeting of government spending._

What would an Indigenous Voice to Parliament involve?

As Kerry OBrien says in _The Voice to Parliament Handbook_ , there have been many Indigenous voices seeking to advise governments on community needs over decades, but they have never been supported with any consistency.

However, in 2017, with the input of thousands of First Nations people, the landmark document The Uluru Statement of the Heart was released. It called for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution.

As Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo says in the handbook, The Voice proposal is a wonderful consensus position, informed by history, experience, and sound, logical sense.

When was The Voice to Parliament proposed?

According to Kerry OBrien, The Uluru Statement from the Heart is pitched as a conservative blueprint for genuine reconciliation.

Embodied in the Uluru Statement is a request for three fundamentally important but quite reasonable things, he says.

He lists them out:

- Constitutional recognition of First Nations people, permanently ensuring their right to have a Voice to the Australian Parliament and Executive Government when it is considering passing laws that will have an impact on them.

- A process for truth-telling about Indigenous history.

- A process of agreement making, the Makarrata.

Only the first element requires constitutional change via a referendum, the other elements, under the guidance of a Makarrata Commission, would be created through an Act of Parliament.

As Statement signatory and leading advocate Thomas Mayo says in the handbook, the dialogues and convention around The Uluru Statement of the Heart were the most extensive, well-informed and well-formulated constitutional dialogues Indigenous peoples have ever had.

What is The Uluru Statement of the Heart?

The date for The Voice to Parliament referendum is Saturday, 14 October, 2023. A referendum must be held no earlier than two months and no later than six months after a Constitution alteration bill has passed Parliament.

The Parliament passed the Constitution Alteration Bill on Monday 19 June 2023.

When is the referendum on The Voice?

Thomas Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is the National Indigenous Officer of the MUA. Thomas is a signatory of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and has been a leading advocate since its inception in May 2017. He is the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Indigenous Labor Network and a director on the Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition board. Thomas is the author of six books published by Hardie Grant and has many articles and essays published across the major media providers.

About Thomas Mayo

Kerry OBrien is a prominent Australian journalist and author whose long career includes 28 years as a national current affairs television presenter and interviewer. He has specialised in politics but has also built a strong base in economics and business journalism, as well as investigative reporting. He has interviewed presidents and prime ministers across the world.

Kerry has worked for every free-to-air television network and has spent more than 30 years in public broadcasting. He cut his teeth on trailblazing ABC current affairs programs like This Day Tonight, and Four Corners, and was the first presenter of the groundbreaking late night news analysis program, Lateline. He was also Editor and Presenter of the National 7.30 Report for 15 years.

He has written two books, one on former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and more recently a memoir on the social and political upheavals he has witnessed in half a century of journalism.

Over decades he has also built a strong body of conference work as a speaker, moderator and interviewer.

About Kerry OBrien

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What does the Voice to Parliament mean?

Join our upcoming discussion with Thomas Mayo and Kerry OBrien

Keep informed
Stay Inspired

What does the Voice to Parliament mean?

Join our upcoming discussion with Thomas Mayo and Kerry OBrien

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired