Peacebuilding and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by Heather Devere Kelli Te Maihāroa & John P. Synott

Author:Heather Devere, Kelli Te Maihāroa & John P. Synott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

8.6 Referenda in Australia

In order to proceed with a referendum, the form and substance of proposed referendum questions must first be authorised by the Parliament. This is also an opportunity for reasonable community concerns about the scope and content of the proposed recommendations to be addressed.56 In a free society, debate should be encouraged, not stifled.57 However, the Panel’s referendum questions are not likely to be easily understood by the voters and arguably for this reason have been developed by the subsequent parliamentary committees. In addition, the fact that the majority of Australian voters are non-Indigenous means that it is primarily non-Indigenous sensibilities that will determine the scope of the recognition (if any) that is afforded. Therefore, pragmatically, the proposed referendum question should appeal to mainstream values. The next section proposes change that will appeal to mainstream values in a manner that is likely to win majority approval and also deliver some tangible benefits to the Indigenous people.

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