Australia's Indigenous recognition bill passes first hurdle
SYDNEY, May 31 (Reuters) -Legislation to hold a referendum to recognise Australia's Indigenous people in the constitution cleared its first parliamentary hurdle on Wednesday as it was passed in the House of Representatives.
Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum, likely to be held between October and December, on whether they support altering the constitution to include "Voice to Parliament", a committee that can advise the parliament on matters affecting its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
Aboriginal people, making up about 3.2% of Australia's near 26 million population, track below national averages on most socio-economic measures and are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution. They were marginalised by British colonial rulers and not granted voting rights until the 1960s.
In a final vote in the lower house of parliament, 121 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill - called the Constitution Alteration bill - while 25 voted against, which included members from the National Party and the main opposition Liberal party.
Lawmakers clapped and cheered as the final numbers of the vote were read out.
"We're one step closer to holding a referendum on constitutional recognition through the Voice in 2023," Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians said in a tweet after the outcome of the vote was announced.
The bill will still need to go through the senate next month, after which the government will set a date for the polls.
A successful referendum would finally give constitutional recognition to Australia's Indigenous people, who are one of the most incarcerated people in the world.
Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
