Brisbane 2032 Games committee says yes to Voice to Parliament

The Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee will officially support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee will officially support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, but president Andrew Liveris has conceded there will be differing views on the upcoming referendum.

Mr Liveris said the board had met and discussed the referendum – set to be held next month – and decided to support altering the Constitution.

“We have taken guidance from First Nations representatives on our board, and the extensive consultation undertaken by the Australian Olympic Committee with their Athletes’ Commission and Indigenous Advisory Committee,” he said.

“The board also listened to Paralympics Australia, who are also currently consulting with Paralympians on the Voice.

“While we as the board of the organising committee have formed the collective position to support the Voice, we respect that there are diverse points of view and it is everyone’s right to take their own position.” Mr Liveris said the organising committee would deliver its first reconciliation action plan next year.

“Queensland is home to two of the world’s oldest living cultures, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and we intend to celebrate, include and respect our First Nations peoples all the way through the Brisbane 2032 journey and beyond,” he said.

“We encourage everyone to learn about this referendum and engage meaningfully in the process.”

Brisbane’s bid for the Games included a “legacy priority” for First Nations Australians.

“This commitment aligns to the International Olympic Committee’s own support for First Nations peoples across the world ... and supporting the Voice is an indication of this commitment,” he said.

It came as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pledged that if the Voice failed and he was later elected prime minister, he would hold a second referendum to constitutionally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Mr Dutton said he would seek to establish local and regional consultation bodies and take Australians back to the polls to vote on symbolic recognition of First Nations people. “I believe very strongly that that is the right thing to do,” he said.

But Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin said the public had decided not to support symbolic recognition when it was included in the 1999 republic referendum.

“If there was a Voice, it would sit down with the leader of the opposition and say very respectfully we’ve tried that before, it’s not wanted, it’s not going to lead to practical change and it’s going to waste taxpayers’ money,” he said.

Uluru Dialogue co-chair Professor Megan Davis said the whole point of the consultation and processes that led to the Voice proposal was to develop a consensus preference for the type of recognition Indigenous Australians wanted.

Campaigning for a Voice, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged voters not to close the door on Indigenous recognition at next month’s referendum.