2023 Voice Referendum resources: a quick guide

31 January 2024

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James Haughton
Social Policy

This Quick Guide provides links to Parliamentary Library publications and other resources relating to the unsuccessful Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) referendum, which occurred on 14 October 2023.

2023 Referendum

Legislation

Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023, Bill homepage
- Bills Digest for the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 (May 2023)
- Second reading speeches
- All debates

Parliamentary information

Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum (the Voice Referendum Committee), Committee homepage
- Advisory report (May 2023): includes dissenting reports and additional comments by non-government members
- Government response (May 2023)
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Scrutiny Report 5 of 2023 (May 2023, pp. 1–2, 11–19): provides the Human Rights Committee’s views on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 Bill, including discussion of whether the proposed Voice is racially discriminatory, or would create a race-based right
Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee inquiry into Administration of the referendum into an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, inquiry homepage
- Government response (September 2023)
Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition Relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Committee homepage
- Interim report (July 2018)
- Final report (November 2018)

Government information

Australian Government

Recognition through a Voice website (archived on Trove)
National Indigenous Australians Agency, Referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice website

Australian Electoral Commission

The 2023 referendum
- Referendum booklet, including Yes/No case pamphlet
- Disinformation register (referendum process)

Parliamentary Library publications

James Haughton and Lisa Richards, Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian Government representative and advisory bodies: a quick guide (June 2023, updated November 2023): provides a brief overview of all former national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative and advisory bodies and relevant Commonwealth ministers
Sally McNicol and James Haughton, Indigenous Constitutional Recognition and Representation (Parliamentary Library Briefing Book for the 47th Parliament, 2022): provides an overview of debate and progress on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander constitutional recognition through to the beginning of the 47th Parliament
Sally McNicol, Commonwealth laws relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: a quick guide (September 2023): provides a summary of laws specific to or disproportionately affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
James Haughton, Lisa Richards and Cathy Madden, Indigenous and minority representation worldwide (September 2023): tabulation and summary of mechanisms comparable to the proposed Voice in other countries
James Haughton and Sally McNicol, Australian Government Indigenous-specific bodies and budgets: a quick guide (November 2023): summary of Indigenous-specific government bodies and expenditure as of 2023

Other resources

Indigenous Voice Co-design Process Final Report to the Australian Government (the ‘Calma-Langton report’, July 2021)
- Indigenous Voice Co-design Process: Interim Report to the Australian Government (October 2020)
- Submissions to the Co-design Process (archived on Trove)
Nicholas Biddle, Matthew Gray, Ian McAllister and Matt Qvortrup, Detailed analysis of the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum and related social and political attitudes, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, 28 November 2023

Recognition, representation and the Uluru Statement from the Heart

Uluru Statement from the Heart website

Parliamentary Library publications

Daniel McKay, Uluru Statement: a quick guide (June 2017): provides an overview of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including the process by which it was agreed upon, its objectives, and responses to it
James Haughton and Apolline Kohen, Indigenous constitutional recognition and representation (Parliamentary Library Briefing Book for the 46th Parliament, 2019): provides an overview of debate and progress on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander constitutional recognition through to the beginning of the 46th Parliament
James Haughton, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander treaties, constitutional and legal recognition and representation in Australia: a chronology (March 2022): provides a chronology of development over time of the movement towards political rights such as voting rights, constitutional recognition and representative mechanisms and the related and interlinked treaty movements, from colonisation to the present
Phillip Hamilton, 60th anniversary of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens being granted the right to vote in Federal elections (May 2022): Flagpost commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962, which granted all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the option to enrol and vote in federal elections
Emma Vines, Voice, Treaty, Truth? The role of truth-telling in Australian, state and territory governments' reconciliation processes: a chronology from 2015 (August 2022): considers the role of truth-telling in the reconciliation process in Australia, looking at how it has manifested across different levels of government both within and outside of formal reconciliation processes since the Uluru Statement from the Heart
Lisa Richards, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parliamentarians in Australia: a quick guide (August 2022): lists the name, party, chamber, state/electorate, dates in office, significant firsts, and identity (where readily available) of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander parliamentarians in federal and state/territory parliaments in Australia
Marion Sawer, Marilyn Lake, Tim Rowse and Benjamin Jones, 120th Anniversary of the 1902 Franchise and Electoral Acts: proceedings of a Parliamentary Library Symposium (March 2023): comprises 4 short pieces on the history of the franchise including ‘The Aboriginal Franchise’ by Professor Tim Rowse
Cathy Madden, Flags in the Chambers (June 2023): Flagpost on the introduction of the Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers

Other resources

Referendum Council, Final report of the Referendum Council including the Uluru Statement from the Heart (June 2017)
- Referendum Council, Discussion Paper on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (October 2016): outline of various options for constitutional recognition considered by the Referendum Council
- Submissions received in response to the discussion paper
- Government Response to Referendum Council’s report on Constitutional Recognition (media release, 26 October 2017)

Referendums (general)

Legislation and government information

Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Act 2023: amended the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 in anticipation of the 2023 Referendum
- Bills Digest for the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022
Australian Electoral Commission, Referendums: An overview of how referendums work

Parliamentary Library publications

Parliamentary Handbook, Referendums and Plebiscites: provides a searchable list of referendum and plebiscite questions, links to ‘Yes and ‘No’ case pamphlets, and results by state and territory
Damon Muller, Should Australia's referendum rules be reformed? (November 2022): Flagpost discussing proposals to amend the Referendums (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984
Damon Muller, Constitutional referendums in Australia: a quick guide (May 2023): provides a brief overview of the process for conducting a constitutional referendum
Damon Muller, Timing of constitutional referendums: a quick guide (June 2023): outlines the constitutional and legislative requirements regarding the timing of a constitutional referendum, and how the electoral calendar relates to the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 Bill
Stephanie Gill, Referendums … I wasn’t born (or old enough to vote) then! (June 2023): Flagpost on the Government’s plans for a civics education and awareness program in the lead up to the referendum on the Voice
Stephanie Gill, Civics education: is Australia making the grade? (June 2023): Flagpost exploring the state of civics knowledge for first-time referendum voters

1967 Referendum

Parliamentary Library publications

Matthew Thomas, The 1967 Referendum (May 2017): Flagpost commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum
John Gardiner-Garden, The 1967 referendum: history and myths (May 2007): marks the 40th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, covering its history and the various myths and misconceptions that have grown around it

Other resources

National Museum of Australia, Defining Moments: Indigenous Referendum
Russell Taylor, Indigenous Constitutional Recognition: The 1967 Referendum and Today (Senate Occasional Papers, 2017)
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), The 1967 Referendum
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum: explains changes made to the Census because of the 1967 referendum

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics and Closing the Gap

Closing the Gap reports

National Indigenous Australians Agency, Commonwealth Closing the Gap Annual Report 2022
Australian Government, Closing the Gap reports, 2009–2020
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Close the Gap Steering Committee, Close the Gap reports, 2010–2022
Productivity Commission, Review of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap: Draft report (July 2023; final report due to be released 7 February 2024)

Parliamentary Library publications

James Haughton, Closing the Gap (Parliamentary Library Briefing Book for the 46th Parliament, 2019): discusses the failure of the first Closing the Gap targets
Sally McNicol, Closing the Gap (Parliamentary Library Briefing Book for the 47th Parliament, 2022): discusses the prospects for the new Closing the Gap targets

Statistics

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: Hub for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander statistics.
Productivity Commission, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage reports (most recent release from 2020)
Productivity Commission, Closing the Gap Dashboard
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Regional Insights for Indigenous Communities website
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2021 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics by Commonwealth Electoral Divisions [excel][Parliamentary intranet only]: Statistics from the 2021 census sorted by geographic area

Other resources

National Agreement on Closing the Gap, Closing the Gap website
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Closing the Gap Targets: 2017 Analysis of Progress and Key Drivers of Change (2018)
Closing the Gap parliamentary debate: speeches by Senators and MPs on Closing the Gap and the annual Closing the Gap report

Indigenous-specific expenditure

Parliamentary Library publications

James Haughton and Sally McNicol, Australian Government Indigenous-specific bodies and budgets: a quick guide (November 2023): summary of Indigenous-specific government bodies and expenditure as of 2023
James Haughton, Indigenous affairs overview, 2019–20 Budget Review: discusses the drivers of Indigenous-related expenditure from the Productivity Commission Indigenous Expenditure Report

The following articles from recent Parliamentary Library Budget Reviews provide an overview of Indigenous-specific expenditure in Budgets preceding the referendum:

Sally McNicol and James Haughton, Indigenous Affairs (Budget Review, May 2023): includes a chart of Indigenous-specific budget spending for the last decade
Sally McNicol, Indigenous Affairs (Budget Review, October 2022)
Howard Maclean, First Nations Justice package (Budget Review, October 2022)
James Haughton, Responding to the Uluru Statement from the Heart (Budget Review, October 2022)
James Haughton, Indigenous Affairs: leadership, land, economic development and education (Budget Review, April 2022)
Sally McNicol, Indigenous Affairs: health, culture and language, housing, justice and safety (Budget Review, April 2022)

For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.

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