Make 2023 the year for Voice

This year we will be holding a nation-defining referendum in Australia to change our constitution. The referendum question we will vote on is whether we support establishing a representative voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to inform government decision making.

Changes to our constitution can only occur via a referendum, and since Federation only eight of the 44 proposals for constitutional change have passed. The last referendum (on whether Australia should become a republic) was held in 1999. The last successful referendum was held in 1977, so many Australians have not participated in a referendum process.

The other significant successful referendum to be highlighted in the current context is the 1967 referendum when more than 90% of Australians voted to remove references in our constitution that discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It was the single most unifying moment in Australia’s democratic history. Now 55 years later we are being asked build upon this by voting on another matter of fundamental principle.

At the time of writing, the date of the referendum has not been confirmed. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated it will take place sometime between August and October this year. A “double majority” of those voting must be achieved for a referendum question to pass. This means the majority of those voting nationwide must vote yes AND a majority of the states must also vote yes. This requirement, in part, explains why most referendum proposals have to date been unsuccessful. Political support from major political parties for a yes vote is usually seen as a prerequisite to achieving a yes outcome.

Getting to this referendum has been a very long journey involving many inquiries and years of broad community consultation. There have been ten reports on constitutional recognition since 2010 and lengthy deliberative processes including a Referendum Council, a joint federal parliamentary inquiry and a co-design process established by the previous Morrison government. The ground has been well and truly covered. What is needed now is action.

A working group has also been established to advance the significant work already undertaken and outline clear principles to define the body that will provide the voice. This body1:

■ provides independent advice to the Parliament and Government

■ is chosen by First Nations peoples based on the wishes of local communities

■ is representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

■ is empowering, community led, inclusive, respectful, culturally informed and gender balanced, and includes youth

■ is accountable and transparent

■ works alongside existing organisations and traditional structures.

There are a lot more details about the referendum process members need to be aware of, and myths to be busted. We will provide this in the coming months so members can make an informed decision. This detail, although important, is not the main game in my view. Rather it is the principle at the core of this deliberation.

I want to focus this column on the need for Voice.

The lack of voice is central to the significant disadvantage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have experienced since the British colony was established in Australia. Their displacement and resultant trauma and disadvantage must be acknowledged if we are to reconcile our past and move forward together. In doing so we can make practical improvements to the lives of Australia’s First Nations peoples.

For me the slogan used widely by disability activists, “nothing about us without us”, neatly sums up what is at the heart of this referendum. This resonates strongly with nurses and midwives. Given the entrenched power imbalances in our health and aged care system, we have first-hand experience of not being at tables where decisions are made that directly impact upon our lives.

Having a say and being heard is fundamental to addressing the root cause of problems to bring about systemic change. We experience the powerlessness related to not being heard and our concerns not being acted upon, so the call of First Nations peoples should resonate with us.

Recognising the need for a proper voice in our constitution for First Nations peoples provides the necessary fundamental structural change to ensure they can improve the decisions, policies and laws that affect them. Change starts with listening.

At our 2020 annual conference QNMU adopted a position to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a statement that includes a call to provide First Nations peoples with a voice in our constitution The other two elements of the Statement are a Makarrata Commission to supervise the making of agreements or treaties, and a process to oversee truth telling for our nation - Voice. Treaty. Truth.

Annual conference is our union’s annual democratic policy making forum, involving hundreds of delegates representing members from across our state. This resolution was subsequently ratified by the QNMU Council, the elected body charged ensuring delivery of our union’s strategic priorities.

So QNMU members, through our democratic processes, had a voice in advancing this strategic priority for our union, the Australian union movement and our country as a whole. As unionists we know the importance of having our collective voices heard in the various places where decisions that impact upon us in our working and personal lives are made.

Since our 2020 conference, we have worked with the QNMU First Nations Branch to advance the campaign for constitutional