87% of public submissions published to date in response to the Indigenous Voice Interim Report support a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, as called for in the Uluru Statement, analysis by the Indigenous Law Centre (ILC) based at UNSW Law and Justice finds.
Analysis by the UNSW Indigenous Law Centre (ILC) finds 82% of public submissions expressly support constitutional enshrinement of a Voice to Parliament, and a further 5% express in-principle support for constitutional enshrinement, analysis of published submissions shows.
Submissions closed today, 30 April 2021.
“The Australian public has accepted the invitation of the Uluru Statement. The submissions show overwhelming support of everyday Australians wanting to move towards a referendum to enshrine a Voice to Parliament in the Australian Constitution,”Referendum Council co-chair and Uluru Statement leader Pat Anderson AOsays.
“The Australian people have stated, explicitly, that the design of a First Nations Voice cannot be decoupled from constitutional reform. Public submissions show that most Australians want the question put to them in a referendum as a matter of priority.”
Submissions have been received from Australians from all walks of life, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, including Aboriginal organisations, healthcare and social services organisations, corporations, small community organisations, school children, teachers, professors, and community members. This includes the Law Council of Australia, the Business Council of Australia, Qantas and many more.
“The overwhelming amount of support for a constitutionally enshrined Voice, represented by such a large percentage of published submissions, means that the Commonwealth and the Indigenous Voice Co-design group cannot ignore them,” Deputy Director of the Indigenous Law Centre, Dr Dani Larkin says.
“The Prime Minister says there is no consensus on constitutional recognition. These submissions show otherwise.”
The total number of public submissions noted on the Indigenous Voice website was 2421 (as of 12 pm, 30 April 2021), indicating that not all public submissions have been published online. The Indigenous Law Centre analysed all public submissions published on the National Indigenous Australians Agency’s ‘Indigenous Voice’ website (voice.niaa.gov.au) as of 12pm 30 April 2021, representing 1435 public submissions.
The UNSW Indigenous Law Centre leads educational campaigns on the Uluru Statement and the Uluru Dialogues process. Its mandate is the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The work of the ILC is informed by the many cultural authorities involved in the work of the Referendum Council and the First Nations dialogues that led to the Uluru Statement.
