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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/20/indigenous-representative-voice-better-enshrined-in-legislation-ken-wyatt
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| Indigenous representative voice better enshrined in legislation – Ken Wyatt | Indigenous representative voice better enshrined in legislation – Ken Wyatt |
| (4 months later) | |
| Liberal Ken Wyatt says a new Indigenous representative voice to parliament would probably be better enshrined in legislation rather than the constitution, and has predicted the resolution of the long-running debate about recognition will now fall outside the current term of parliament. | Liberal Ken Wyatt says a new Indigenous representative voice to parliament would probably be better enshrined in legislation rather than the constitution, and has predicted the resolution of the long-running debate about recognition will now fall outside the current term of parliament. |
| Wyatt, the only Indigenous Liberal MP in the parliament, said on Thursday the landmark change proposed by the prime minister’s Referendum Council – that an Indigenous representative voice be enshrined in the constitution – would have to go out for consultation with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, because it was an entirely new concept in the recognition debate. | Wyatt, the only Indigenous Liberal MP in the parliament, said on Thursday the landmark change proposed by the prime minister’s Referendum Council – that an Indigenous representative voice be enshrined in the constitution – would have to go out for consultation with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, because it was an entirely new concept in the recognition debate. |
| Referendum Council endorses Uluru call for Indigenous voice to parliament | |
| The government frontbencher, minister for aged care and Indigenous health, said he would support a people’s convention to consider ways forward, compromised of anyone who wanted to attend – both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous Australians. | The government frontbencher, minister for aged care and Indigenous health, said he would support a people’s convention to consider ways forward, compromised of anyone who wanted to attend – both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous Australians. |
| Wyatt said he understood why Indigenous people were proposing the change and if a representative voice enshrined in the constitution would contribute positively to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, then it should be looked at. | Wyatt said he understood why Indigenous people were proposing the change and if a representative voice enshrined in the constitution would contribute positively to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, then it should be looked at. |
| “But as Amanda Vanstone, in her alternative view, states, this is a new proposition altogether, so it needs to go out for consultation with the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander community,” he told Sky News. | “But as Amanda Vanstone, in her alternative view, states, this is a new proposition altogether, so it needs to go out for consultation with the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander community,” he told Sky News. |
| “It’s not just about those who were at Uluru or involved in the dialogue. We’ve got 780,000 Aboriginal people and we need to consider as many of those as possible so we have a position that can be taken and brought back to government to consider”. | “It’s not just about those who were at Uluru or involved in the dialogue. We’ve got 780,000 Aboriginal people and we need to consider as many of those as possible so we have a position that can be taken and brought back to government to consider”. |
| Wyatt said calls for a constitutionally enshrined body were understandable because previous Indigenous representative groups had been established and subsequently abolished by governments when they became “problematic”. | Wyatt said calls for a constitutionally enshrined body were understandable because previous Indigenous representative groups had been established and subsequently abolished by governments when they became “problematic”. |
| Commitments from politicians to work towards a treaty had also not been followed through. “That’s why there is a cynicism,” Wyatt said on Thursday. “I understand where people are coming from.” | Commitments from politicians to work towards a treaty had also not been followed through. “That’s why there is a cynicism,” Wyatt said on Thursday. “I understand where people are coming from.” |
| He said he believed a consultative body would be better established by legislation rather than enshrined in the constitution because that would avoid any unintended consequences. | He said he believed a consultative body would be better established by legislation rather than enshrined in the constitution because that would avoid any unintended consequences. |
| “If it is enshrined in a way where both major parties agree to it and agree there is not going to be an abolition, and they build and restore the faith of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, then I think it is better enshrined in legislation, because that has been effective in the past”. | “If it is enshrined in a way where both major parties agree to it and agree there is not going to be an abolition, and they build and restore the faith of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, then I think it is better enshrined in legislation, because that has been effective in the past”. |
| Wyatt said people needed to carefully consider the unintended consequences of a constitutionally enshrined body, such as whether the Indigenous representative body would then review every piece of legislation that emerged from the parliament. “It may delay legislation.” | Wyatt said people needed to carefully consider the unintended consequences of a constitutionally enshrined body, such as whether the Indigenous representative body would then review every piece of legislation that emerged from the parliament. “It may delay legislation.” |
| He said the other issues to consider was who sat on the body, and how representatives were chosen. “How do you elect people to this body, given the number of language groups in our nation?” | He said the other issues to consider was who sat on the body, and how representatives were chosen. “How do you elect people to this body, given the number of language groups in our nation?” |
| Wyatt said the recommendations from the Referendum Council would delay the outcome in the long-running debate. He said a referendum was now “probably outside the term of this government, if I’m being a realist”. | Wyatt said the recommendations from the Referendum Council would delay the outcome in the long-running debate. He said a referendum was now “probably outside the term of this government, if I’m being a realist”. |
| Wyatt’s concerns echo doubts raised by Indigenous Labor MPs about the merits of the new proposal. | Wyatt’s concerns echo doubts raised by Indigenous Labor MPs about the merits of the new proposal. |
| Both Wyatt on Thursday and Labor MPs earlier this week have also questioned the Referendum Council’s resistance to recommending the removal of race powers from the constitution. | Both Wyatt on Thursday and Labor MPs earlier this week have also questioned the Referendum Council’s resistance to recommending the removal of race powers from the constitution. |
| Powers inserted into the constitution as part of the 1967 referendum gave the commonwealth authority to make laws for “the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws”. | Powers inserted into the constitution as part of the 1967 referendum gave the commonwealth authority to make laws for “the people of any race for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws”. |
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