The voice to parliament referendum could lead to a “perverse” outcome where many First Nations people don’t have a say if rules around enrolment aren’t altered, according to Indigenous rights activists.
An amendment to the Referendum Machinery Provisions Act – which will determine how the referendum will be held – passed this week, and the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, unveiled the final wording of the constitutional amendment and referendum question. Despite the Greens pushing the government to allow voters to enrol on referendum day, voters will be required to enrol in advance in order to cast their vote – something advocates say could negatively affect Indigenous communities.
Joe Martin-Jard, the chief executive of the Northern Land Council, which represents some of the most remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, says the current rules requiring voters to enrol in advance with proof of ID could limit the number of Indigenous Australians voting.
“In a perverse way, [the current rules are] stopping our mob and suppressing their voice to get a voice – it’s a very unusual situation,” the Kamilaroi man said.
“If someone turns up at a polling booth and there’s a person in the community that can vouch for that person – they should be able to vote, that is what we are advocating for.”
Although the Indigenous enrolment rate has been increasing in recent years, it still lags behind the overall enrolment rate. The Australian Electoral Commission estimates that 84.5% of Indigenous Australians eligible to be enrolled were enrolled as of the end of December, compared with Australia’s overall enrolment rate of 97%.
The government opposed crossbench amendments to the Referendum Machinery Provisions Act that would have expanded voting eligibility to prisoners and granted on-the-day enrolment and voting, saying that the amendment needed to align referendum rules with voting rules at general parliamentary elections.
The special minister of state, Don Farrell, noted that the government and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) were working on wider strategies to boost First Nations people’s enrolment. A separate inquiry by the parliamentary committee on electoral matters is investigating whether changes to voting rules should be made for general elections – and the government suggested that if there are further recommendations, rules could be updated for future referendums.
The AEC said there was a range of work and initiatives under way to have as many people enrolled to vote as possible, adding that its Indigenous Electoral Participation Program was working hard to get people to enrol to vote and understand the voting process. The AEC is assessing the translations of materials for the referendum, it said.
Martin-Jard said there are already barriers for many people in remote communities. For some, their primary language is their local language and some may need to travel by car to get to their nearest polling stations.
Martin-Jard said he wants voting cards to be as simple and as inclusive as possible.
“Instead of old people who might be frail and expecting them to write ‘yes’ or ‘no’, we think it’s not fair and for those people who haven’t got English, they should be assisted by a respected person in their community to help them,” he said.
He said he and others had raised the concerns in the committee examining the Referendum Machinery Provisions Act in December, urging the government to ensure as many Indigenous people as possible are able to cast their vote in the referendum.
Martin-Jard said it was critical that all Indigenous people were empowered to have their vote on a once-in-a-generation referendum.
“We are deeply concerned … We passed a resolution with all of the three land councils supporting the statement in full but we feel as if because of the voting arrangements, we are being denied to vote for a voice,” he said.
Francis Markham, a researcher at the Australian National University’s Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, said a “safety net” was needed to ensure all people can vote and no one is excluded.
“What on-the-day enrolment basically does is it provides a safety net, which means that no one is disfranchised because they’re not on the electoral roll,” Markham said.
“There is a real risk that Indigenous people might be turned away from voting on the voice at the ballot box.”
He said most states and territories – including the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria – have provisions to ensure eligible people who have not enrolled can vote in state and council elections by doing a declaration vote. A declaration vote is sealed, put in a special ballot box and later verified.
“If they are found to indeed be eligible to be on the electoral roll, then their vote is counted, so there’s very little risk of ballot fraud. This is just a mechanism to help people enjoy their democratic right to be able to vote,” he said.
“So this isn’t some kind of radical change to how we do elections in Australia. It’s very much business as usual.”
