The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, has announced that the Morrison government will hold a referendum within three years to entrench Indigenous Recognition in the constitution.
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, speaks at the National Press Club
Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra today, Wyatt stressed that the government would only proceed if it was certain that a referendum would succeed. “It will take time, it will need to be measured,” he said.
“We need to design the right model to progress to a point at which the majority of Australians, the majority of states and territories and indigenous Australians support the model so that it is successful.”
Wyatt said he would work across the political spectrum to develop the model. He said the ALP’s Indigenous spokeswoman, Linda Burney, would be “integral” to the process.
The minister said he was committed to bringing an indigenous voice to parliament, but that this may not be part of the constitutional reform.
The Australian Constitution has not been amended since 1977. Since 1901, 44 proposals have been submitted to the electorate. Only eight of these have been carried. A referendum requires a majority vote of the Australian electorate plus majorities in four of the six states.
Listen to Wyatt’s speech (33m):
Listen to Wyatt take questions (29m):
