A National Voice to Parliament is still possible

It is looking increasingly likely that we could still have a national Voice to Parliament, even though it wouldn’t be in The Constitution.

While the Opposition leader pats himself on the back for a “win” over Labor and for inciting hate towards Aboriginal people, the states and territories are working together to create Voices to their own state and territory parliaments.

This creates the scenario where the state voices could also form a National Council, without the need for federal legislation, to meet on a regular basis to advise on issues to the federal government.

This would be similar to National Cabinet, where the Premiers and Prime Minister meet to discuss matters of federal importance. It would be an official body set up by the states to advise the federal government.

We could even see the situation where the state Voices Council meets directly with National Cabinet to discuss matters of national issues, with federal ministers present. These matters could then be taken back to federal parliament.

For the latter scenario, legislation would need to be passed to allow the Council of Voices to attend National Cabinet, but it seems this would probably pass both houses of parliament if it was introduced.

The other scenario is for Labor to legislate for a Voice to Parliament outside the Constitution, but Anthony Albanese has already ruled this out.

There are several difficulties with this, the first being that there is no guarantee that it would pass the senate.

The Greens were very quiet about the Voice during recent campaigning, and they have a tendency to hold the government to ransom if the government want legislation to pass. We saw this with their ridiculous rent freeze campaign when the government tried to introduce HAFF.

Albanese can’t afford another humiliating loss on The Voice, and the trauma it would inflict on Indigenous people if The Greens block it would have devastating effects.

There is still a way to go for the state Voices to become a National Council, but it is already well underway.

Victoria already has a Voice, South Australia are well on the way, Queensland has announced it is on their agenda, the Tasmanian Premier has made it clear he supports a Voice and the other states and territories have indicated an interest in having state Voices.

One thing seems clear, though – the Voice to Parliament is not yet dead in the water.

Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Business, a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management. He is also the General Manager of The Australian Business and Leadership School.

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