Australians voted in a referendum Saturday to decide whether to enshrine in the nation’s constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that affect their lives.
A polling place volunteer, left, assists a woman at a polling place in Redfern as Australians cast their final votes in Sydney, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in their first referendum in a generation that aims to tackle Indigenous disadvantage by enshrining in the constitution a new advocacy committee. The prospect of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has bitterly divided Australia’s Indigenous minority as well as the wider community.
Bipartisan support regarded as essential in Australia for successfully changing the constitution never emerged, and Indigenous leaders were divided on the idea.England beats Australia 1-0 as Watkins’ hot streak continues with winning goal Indigenous Australians are the most disadvantaged ethnic group in Australia. Indigenous men have a life expectancy of 71 years and Indigenous women 75 years. That’s 8.6 years shorter than other Australian men and 7.8 years shorter than other Australian women.The proposal called for establishing “an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice” that would advise Parliament and the government on Indigenous matters.
Opponents said the Voice would be the biggest change to Australian democracy in the country’s history and the biggest ever change to Australia’s constitution. They said it might worsen racial divisions. When the center-left Labor Party won elections in May last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used his first speech to commit his government to creating the Voice.Amending the constitution has never been easy in Australia. Before the Voice ballot, voters approved only eight of the 44 changes proposed in referendums since the constitution took effect in 1901.
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