THE VOICE TO PARLIAMENT HANDBOOK by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O'Brien

by Thomas Mayo and Kerry O'Brien

As many will know, later in 2023 Australia will hold a referendum to determine whether our Constitution should provide for a Voice to Parliament, representing Australia’s First Nation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This is a campaign I am passionately supportive of.

I was recently lucky enough to listen to a talk by the authors of The Voice To Parliament Handbook, Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien. Mayo is a First Nations man who is a signatory of the Uluṟu Statement of the Heart, and O’Brien a respected journalist and broadcaster of more than 50 years at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC - Australia’a public broadcaster). I had a copy of the book and have read it, and was lucky to have them both sign it. I also snagged a quick selfie with Thomas, as we have been “connected” on several social media platforms for many years.

The Handbook is a fantastic resource - less than 100 pages long, it discusses how the Referendum came into being, predominantly through dialogues conducted throughout Australia with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, on what Constitutional Recognition might look like. The overwhelming majority of those people said they wanted proper representation, truth telling and formalised treaty. Australia is the only Commonwealth country that doesn’t have a formalised treaty with its First Nations people, to our great shame.

The result of those dialogues, led by Professor Megan Davis, Aunty Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson, was the Uluṟu Statement of the Heart, which people can and should read here.

Part of that Statement was an invitation to all Australians to walk WITH Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people toward reconciliation, through a three pronged approach: a Voice to Parliament, Treaty and Makkarata - a truth telling process.

The Handbook talks through what the Voice to Parliament is, and what it is not. It is a body of elected people from communities across Australia who will provide advice to the Parliament about proposed legislation that directly impacts First Nations people. We have had iterations of these advisory bodies before, but they’ve been scrapped by conservative governments who have not wanted to fund or listen to Indigenous voices - primarily because those voices were saying things conservative politicians didn’t like or agree with. the difference this time is that the Voice is enshrined in the Constitution, meaning it cannot be disbanded based on political whims. It is NOT a body which will veto governments or parliaments - it is advisory only. It will not have a say on every piece of legislation before the parliament - only those which fall under the power of the federal government to make laws for Aboriginal people that is also enshrined in the Constitution. The Voice to Parliament will not, for example, be advising on general matters like taxation or transport.

The Handbook addresses all the questions people have and provides really clear answers. That’s what makes it a great book - it sets out the arguments supporting the Voice clearly, acknowledging that there are legitimate questions that people might have, and answering the concerns those disinclined to support the referendum have. There will be some people will vote no, regardless of the sensible reasons to vote Yes. It is also true that there is not unanimous support for the Voice in Aboriginal communities - after all, they are humans who can think for themselves and many would like to see treaty come first. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not monolithic - they of course cover a wide diaspora of opinions themselves, and they have the right to their views, even if I disagree with some of those. However, the vast majority of mob DO support the Voice To Parliament too, and I truly believe it is a promising step forward in what is a long process to come.

Hopefully, once the Voice is established, the next step will be a a federal move towards treaty and truth telling, as they are essential cogs in the wheel of progress - but ones I don’t believe governments will take without the Voice in place first and in such a manner that, in the event of a change of government, cannot be simply tossed aside.

At less than $20.00, this is a book you cannot afford to NOT read, before the vote in late 2023. I highly commend it to you, as you make your decision.