Voice to Parliament
In 2023, Australians will decide whether to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution at the nation’s first referendum since 1999. The Voice would empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by providing a representative body to give advice on laws and policies that affect Indigenous communities.
The government has committed $364.6 million to deliver the referendum, including $10.5 million for the Department of Health and Aged Care to increase mental health supports for Indigenous people during the period of the referendum.
Considering the negative health impacts reported by those in the LGBT community following the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, this comes as welcome news in the face of the fearmongering and disinformation we can expect to continue from some of the Voice’s detractors. While it is an improvement that warnings are being heeded from those who have drawn a parallel between the 2017 plebiscite and the upcoming referendum, it is a sad indictment that such measures are necessary.