The Albanese government will introduce legislation for its proposed Voice to Parliament constitutional amendment and referendum question amid continued backlash over the Prime Minister’s draft wording.
The bill, which will be tabled shortly after 9am on Thursday, will legislate the referendum question and amendments agreed to by the First Nations Constitutional Working Group and cabinet.
The opposition and legal experts have scrutinised the inclusion of executive government when referring to who the Voice may “make representations” in the draft second clause. “That cannot be altered or limited by an act of parliament,” the University of Sydney’s Professor Anne Twomey toldUNSW Professor George Williams said while the government’s amendment gives parliament privacy “over most things” it did not prevent the Voice from giving advice.
“But if it made a representation arguing for tax deductions specific to Indigenous peoples or different zones or tax specific to Indigenous peoples, that would be matters it could make representations on because it is provided for by the constitutional change. It’s all about context.”
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