More FYI
As former Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson explained, the Voice would be “constitutionally entrenched but legislatively controlled”.
This establishes a balance between a constitutional protection of the Voice while allowing it to be adapted to future circumstances.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | Australian Human Rights Commission*It is not feasible to limit the Voice to Indigenous-specific legislation. Parliament passes lots of laws every year. It is not always possible to know in advance what constitutional provision supports each law. This is only decided if the High Court rules on the validity of the legislation, which happens a long time after the law has been passed by Parliament - and a long time after the Voice would have made representations on the Bill.
*Some commentators have argued that inserting a provision about an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice would undermine the nature of our Constitution. Are they correct?No. The Voice is not a radical change. It is a modest addition to our Constitution and to our nation. The proposal has been thoroughly tested with senior constitutional lawyers across the spectrum over the last five years, including via the government's Constitutional Expert Group. Two former Chief Justices of the High Court of Australia, Murray Gleeson and Robert French, have both expressed public support for the Voice, as has former High Court judge Kenneth Hayne. Leading constitutional lawyers such as Anne Twomey, George Williams, Asmi Wood, Bret Walker and Megan Davis have also expressed support for the Voice. As Murray Gleeson has explained:A proposal that the Constitution should provide for Parliament to design, establish, and determine from time to time the make-up and operations of a body to represent Indigenous people, with a specific function of advising about the exercise of that power, hardly seems revolutionary.The Voice also does not cut against the nature of our Constitution. It simply provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the opportunity to speak to the Parliament and government when they are debating laws and policy that will affect Indigenous Australians. As Robert French has noted, the Voice is 'high return against low risk', because it will 'provide a practical opportunity for First Peoples to give informed and coherent and reliable advice to the Parliament and the Executive to assist them in law and policy making in one of the most difficult areas of contemporary government'.
Indigenous Voice to Parliament - ANU
Now can you do the planet a favour and not come back tomorrow asking what it's all about!
