The constitutional changes will help Australia come together as a nation.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CANBERRA — Citizens Australia will hold a constitutional referendum to give the long-suffering indigenous people an institutional voice in 2023. The announcement would be the first way to recognize indigenous peoples in the constitution and fix the historic exclusion from the parliamentary process.

The proposed “Voice of Parliament” aims to give Indigenous Australians a greater voice in shaping national policy. Indigenous groups have faced poorer health, lower incomes and higher barriers to education.

Indigenous Australians are currently not named in the constitution adopted in 1901. Any politically controversial change initiative.

The moderate-left Labor government has promised to hold a referendum on the issue, but has avoided setting a date so far.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally spoke at a folk festival in the state of Queensland on Wednesday evening (28/12). He confirmed in a statement prepared by his government that the vote will take place next year.

“I would also like to reiterate, with pride and clarity, my government’s determination to enshrine in the Australian constitution an Indigenous voice for Parliament,” Albanese said. Algeria.

“Votes for Parliament” will establish a constitutionally recognized body or vote. He will then be responsible for advising the government on issues affecting Indigenous Australians.

Albanese argued that constitutional changes would help unite Australia as a nation. This latest effort is a form of acceptance of the help that Indigenous peoples have given Australia so far.

Australian advocacy group Reconciliation says incorporating Indigenous voices into the constitution is of great importance. The measure will have lasting repercussions because it cannot simply be rejected if another government changes its mind in the future.

“Incorporating participation into the constitution would recognize the special place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian history,” the group said.

Of Australia’s 26 million people, around 900,000 identify as Indigenous. Indigenous Australians settled in the country around 65,000 years ago, but have faced widespread discrimination and oppression since the arrival of British settlers in the late 18th century.

The group was still banned from voting in several Australian states and territories until the 1960s. The inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples remain stark. They have a life expectancy several years shorter than other Australians and are much more likely to die in police custody.

Indigenous Australians make up around 2% of the total population but, according to the Australian Law Reform Commission, make up 27% of the prison population.

There is strong international precedent behind this proposal for Indigenous engagement. Canada and Norway amended their constitutions in the 1980s to better recognize indigenous peoples.