Federal election holds historic choice on Indigenous rights

A historic referendum could follow this year’s federal election, depending on the outcome, with advocates calling it the chance for a “fair go”.

Less than 60 years since Indigenous Australians won the right to be treated equally under the constitution, another historic referendum could face Australia.

Embedded in the upcoming federal election is a decision on the historic First Nations document, the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The Labor Party has committed to implementing the Uluru Statement in full and to introducing a referendum regarding a constitutional First Nations Voice to Parliament.

Having a voice to parliament is a key principle of the Statement, intending to give Indigenous people a mandated say on issues that affect them and their communities.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said he would aim for that referendum to take place within his first term of government.

The Coalition government has not committed to a referendum and previously Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said a voice to parliament lacks “mainstream support”.

Labor has committed to implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart if it wins the next election. Picture: UNSW

Two dates have been proposed by groups behind the Statement for when a referendum could be held – 27 May 2023, or 27 January 2024.

The first date would mark 56 years since the 1967 referendum, in which Australians overwhelmingly voted to count Indigenous people as equal under the constitution.

According to Parliament House records, laws existing before that time resulted in Aboriginal peoples’ “dispossession, oppression and alienation”.

The second date falls one day after Australia Day and the landing of the First Fleet – now referred to by many as Invasion Day.

First Nations representatives, including 1967 activist Pop Neal, are calling for a referendum. Picture: UNSW

Alfred “Pop” Neal OAM is 97 years old and one of few surviving campaigners from the 1967 referendum.

He and other Indigenous leaders met this week to affirm the Statement and call for a referendum.

“We have been here, always. Forever,” Mr Neal said.

“We come together here. We come together … We want to be recognised.”

Cobble Cobble woman and UNSW constitutional law professor Megan Davis was the key architect behind the dialogue process that produced the Uluru Statement.

Also integral to the creation of the Uluru Statement were Professor Davis’ fellow 2021 Sydney Peace Prize recipients Pat Anderson AO and Noel Pearson.

Ms Davis described what has occurred since 2017, when the Uluru Statement was created, as “political inertia”.

“The work is done, and the time is now,” Ms Davis said.

“The stars are aligned. The time for the Uluru Statement reforms is now. This first step, a constitutional voice, is vital.

“Australian people are ready for a referendum.”