Indigenous recognition: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Garma Festival speech builds referendum momentum

Anthony Albanese says he is “optimistic” a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament will be “successful”, proposing one question that could change Australia.

The Prime Minister will tell Australia’s biggest Indigenous gathering on Saturday that a lot of work needs to be done before the “momentous change” he is seeking can happen.

“A referendum is a high hurdle to clear, you know that and so do we,” he will say in his speech to the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory.

“We recognise the risks of failure but we choose not to dwell on them, because we see this referendum as a magnificent opportunity.”

Mr Albanese will announce a referendum question — “Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?”

“A straightforward proposition. A simple principle. A question from the heart,” Mr Albanese will say.

“We can use this question — and the provisions — as the basis for further consultation.”

He will also reveal three sentences he would like to see be added to the constitution.

These include “there shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice”, “the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to Parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”, and “the Parliament shall, subject to this constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice”.

“Fundamentally, this is a reform I believe every Australian can embrace, from all walks of life, in every part of the country, from every faith and background and tradition,” he will say.

“Because it speaks to values we all share and honour — fairness, respect, decency. Enshrining a Voice will be a national achievement. It will be above politics. A unifying Australian moment.”

The Prime Minister is spending two days at the cultural festival in Arnhem Land to advance discussions and build momentum.

Government MPs, including Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and WA Senator Patrick Dodson, the Special Envoy for Reconciliation and the Implementation of the Statement from the Heart, are there.

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser is also in attendance, signalling the Coalition could support Labor’s referendum plan.

The Albanese Government has committed to a referendum in its first term and to eventually implement the statement in full, with a potential national vote to be held on May 27 — the 56th anniversary of the landmark 1967 referendum on Indigenous recognition.

Mr Albanese’s speech comes after a Closing the Gap report this week shows Australia has performed dismally in addressing the socio-economic issues facing First Nations peoples.

Only four out of 17 targets are on track to meet set goals, with suicide, overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and overrepresentation in the child protection system worsening among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the past year.