THE PROPOSED PATH TO AN INDIGENOUS VOICE TO ADVISE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
* Up to 35 local and regional advisory bodies designed and led by Indigenous communities would be set up from July 2022
* They would be based on cultural groupings spread across states and territories
* Western Australia, NSW and Queensland would have seven groups each and the Northern Territory six
* South Australia would have three, Victoria two, and Tasmania, the ACT and Torres Strait Islanders one each
* Local and regional bodies would be formally recognised, with the criteria for this set out in legislation, and work with all levels of government
* A national voice would comprise 24 members drawn from the local and regional groups
* The federal government would be obliged to consult this voice on laws and policies overwhelmingly affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
* The national voice would be a new independent Commonwealth entity able to table formal advice in federal parliament.
Australian Associated Press
