Australia live news update: Albanese accuses Dutton of ‘cheap culture war stunt’ on Indigenous voice, WA floods supply crisis
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How much do we know about the voice? Actually, quite a lot
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has written to the prime minister accusing him of treating the Australian people as “mugs”.
The letter was released to news outlets for maximum exposure but it is worth pointing out the government has been clear about its approach to the referendum – and has released a considerable amount of information already.
Since the push for an Indigenous voice to parliament was announced, Anthony Albanese and others within the government have been clear that they will not be rushing to release information and so risk a rerun of what happened during the previous referendum on Australia becoming a republic, which failed after voters were locked into an unattractive option.
The government has also promised a public education campaign before the referendum but there is already a wealth of material available in the Indigenous voice co-design report led by professors Marcia Langton and Tom Calma.
The Indigenous voice co-design report was produced by a group appointed by the former Indigenous minister Ken Wyatt as part of a 2019 election promise to develop options for an Indigenous voice.
Their report was the result of 18 months’ worth of consultation with 9,478 people and organisations, including 115 community consultations in 67 locations, 2,978 submissions, 1,127 surveys, 124 stakeholder meetings and 13 webinars.
This report outlined a body that would advise the Australian parliament and government on matters relating to the social, spiritual and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Parliament and government would be obliged to consult it on matters that overwhelmingly relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, such as native title, employment, housing, the community development program, the NDIS or heritage protection.
The voice would be able to table formal advice in parliament, and a parliamentary committee would consider that advice. But all elements would be non-justiciable, meaning that there could not be a court challenge and no law could be invalidated based on this consultation.
The co-design report said the voice needed “adequate, secure and long-term resourcing to be provided by the Australian government on a per-region basis” in order to operate successfully.
The report recommended the national voice have 24 members, with gender balance structurally guaranteed. The proposal would include two members from each state, the Northern Territory, the ACT and Torres Strait. Five members would be appointed to represent remote areas – one member each from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales – with members serving four-year terms.
For more on what we know about the voice, read this explainer:
Related: What is the Indigenous voice to parliament and how would it work?