Reconciliation Australia has made a submission to the Indigenous Voice co-design process, which includes a number of recommendations in relation to the approach, its implementation and next steps.
Reconciliation Australia’s overall recommendations in the submission include:
- Recommendation 1: Models for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation emerging from this process, not be referred to as the Voice so as not to confuse them with the calls in the Uluru Statement for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.
- Recommendation 2: The Government and co-design groups ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are given primacy in deliberations regarding the development of final models and their implementation.
- Recommendation 3: Following the Indigenous representation co-design process, the Australian Government consider, in a deliberate and timely manner, the legislative and constitutional processes needed to establish a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.
- Recommendation 4: Following the Indigenous representation co-design process, the Australian Government set out a pathway to realise the bipartisan commitment to constitutional reform, and enshrine the Voice in the Constitution.
- Recommendation 5: The Indigenous representation co-design groups reflect Indigenous Governance principles in the establishment of representative models and embed a ‘Culture-smart’ governance approach. This should be determined locally, ensure gender equity, be based on local priorities, and resonate with the cultural values of local communities.
- Recommendation 6: The Indigenous representation co-design groups develop an implementation roadmap or plan for the national and regional framework. In doing this, the co-design groups should consider how the impact and effectiveness of national and regional representation models will be measured.
