Factbox: Five things to know about Australia's planned Indigenous referendum

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A member of the First Nations Referendum Working Group Marcia Langton speaks to the media during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra
A member of the First Nations Referendum Working Group Marcia Langton speaks to the media during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra, March 23, 2023. AAP Image/Lukas Coch via REUTERS

SYDNEY, March 23 (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday outlined key details for a proposed referendum between October and December this year on recognising the nation's Indigenous people in its constitution.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who represent about 3.2% of Australia's population, are currently not mentioned in the constitution.

Here are five things to know about the referendum:

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

Albanese has proposed adding an additional chapter to Australia's constitution. The new chapter will read as follows:

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

  1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
  2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
  3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.

WHAT IS THE PROPOSED REFERENDUM QUESTION?

Albanese said on Thursday the referendum question would be: "A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?"

HOW DOES THE REFERENDUM WORK?

The government will introduce a bill in parliament in next week outlining the proposed changes to the constitution.

This will be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.

Once approved in parliament, it will be sent to the Governor General, the local representative of the British monarch, who issues a writ for a referendum.

HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED?

To change the constitution, the government must secure what is known as a double majority in the referendum.

That means more than 50% voters must vote in favour nationally, plus a majority of voters in a majority of the states must back the change.

Votes of people living in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Northern Territory regions, and any of Australia's external territories, count towards the national majority only.

Poll turnout will be high as voting is compulsory.

HOW HAVE PAST REFERENDUMS FARED?

There have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only eight of these proposals have been approved.

In the last referendum in 1999, Australians voted against changing the constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the British monarch and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of members of parliament.

Reporting by Praveen Menon in Sydney; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Praveen leads a team of reporters covering companies and financial news in Australia and New Zealand. Before moving to Sydney he was the New Zealand Bureau Chief, where he reported on the leadership of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the coronavirus pandemic, the terrorist attack in Christchurch and several natural disasters. Prior to New Zealand, he was Bureau Chief for Malaysia and Brunei leading a team of reporters covering the missing MH370 airliner, the 1MDB scandal and the country's political turmoil in 2018, which won him an journalism award from the Society of Publishers in Asia. He has previously worked as a correspondent in the UAE, Afghanistan and India.

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