Australia could have its first state-based Indigenous voice to parliament by the end of the year, with South Australia expected to pass legislation on Sunday to allow for the creation of a “robust, informed and inclusive” voice, according to the state’s attorney general, Kyam Maher.
“Australia will be watching what we do in SA very closely ahead of the national referendum later this year,” Maher said.
“It is my hope that South Australia’s voice to parliament shows the nation there is nothing to fear or lose from a federal voice to parliament, and everything to gain.
“The worst thing that can happen with a voice to parliament is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have their voices heard by government in the decisions that directly affect their lives.”
The SA voice would advise state parliament on issues affecting First Nations people from urban, regional and remote communities. It would have six regions and a dozen representatives – two from each region, with gender parity, according to SA’s commissioner for a First Nations’ voice, Dale Agius.
Consultation on the legislation and a possible model began in August last year, soon after Labor was elected under Peter Malinauskas. One of his electoral commitments was to introduce a “nation leading” Indigenous voice to parliament.
Maher said it is “disappointing” that critics would seek to characterise the voice as an extra bureaucracy, “rather than a long-overdue mechanism to ensure First Nations people are consulted on decisions that directly affect their lives”.
“For too long, decisions have been made for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and not by them. South Australia is leading the nation with a voice to parliament in the true sense of the word,” he said.
Agius told Guardian Australia that once the bill is introduced and comes into effect, he is hopeful the voice will hold their first meetings by December.
Agius, a Kaurna, Narungga, Ngadjuri and Ngarrindjeri man, has already held two rounds of consultations in Aboriginal communities across the state to inform the legislated model, which will be put to parliament in a special sitting on Sunday.
Voting for voice candidates would be conducted by the SA electoral commission, and would be held at the same time as regular state elections.
“You’ve got to be on the roll,” Agius said. “We will do an election day, a nomination period, and do all those sort of processes. It will then fall on the state election day, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people go in to vote for both for the state election and vote for their voice reps.”
The SA voice will have an impact on legislation, policy and life outcomes, and will be a way for communities to raise issues that are important to them, Agius said.
“I think that if they’re able to do that effectively, they will demonstrate the benefits of having a coordinated structured mechanism, which is supported by the voices of local Aboriginal community and Torres Strait Islander people,” he said.
But he acknowledged that one of the key differences between the SA voice and a federal model, if it succeeds, is that the SA voice will not be constitutionally enshrined and would remain vulnerable to reform or abolition by any future government.
‘There’s no protection for the voice here in South Australia to survive opposing governments; it’s up to the government of the day to decide if the voice is something that should be continued,” he said.
Mayer said it would be a proud day for his state if the jurisdiction succeeds in establishing the nation’s first Indigenous voice to parliament.
