I think it is incumbent on the Parliament to make sure that there is a process that is followed through as a result of the enormous support to the whole Recognise and the Referendum Council dialogues.
The federal parliament has agreed to establish a Joint Select Committee tasked to inquire into and report on steps that can be taken to progress towards a successful referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition.
A motion establishing the committee was adopted in the lower house and it is set to pass through the senate when the upper chamber convenes on March 19th.
As a bi-partisan body, committee members will be drawn from the government side of politics, the opposition and the cross benchers.
If we can have a genuine dialogue amongst the different parties going forward then that is going to be a tremendous achievement for all of Australia
Speaking with NITV Radio, Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy welcomed the motion and says 'Step by step last week there was a terrific breakthrough, very belated but an important one to get back on track. And if we can have a genuine dialog amongst the different parties going forward then that is going to be a tremendous achievement for all of Australia'.
Aspirations to Co-chair the committee if elected would be Senator Julian Leeser who was nominated by the coalition government and Senator Patrick Dodson who was nominated by the Labor caucus.
Senator McCarthy says that the recent breakthrough was reached despite the Prime Minister’s attempt to shut the debate.
The Referendum Council was appointed to advise the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition on options for constitutional reform.
Mid last year, the Referendum Council finalised its work and recommended in its final report that an Indigenous Voice to Parliament be established.
Senator McCarthy recalls that echoing a large portion of the conservative side of politics, the Prime Minster rejected the key recommendation of the Referendum Council comparing the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament to a third chamber in parliament working alongside the lower house and the senate.
This, according to the Prime Minster was a proposition that would have been unlikely to pass in a referendum.
Contrary to the conservatives, Labour supported the concept of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament which Senator McCarthy says will have an advisory capacity and not sit in parliament as a third chamber.
'I think it is incumbent on the Parliament to make sure that there is a process that is followed through as a result of the enormous support to the whole Recognise and the Referendum Council dialogues.'
Senator McCarthy says that there have been numerous inquiries into the question of recognition over a long period of time and a lot of money has already been spent on them.
These inquiries enjoy enormous support in the community. Once the Joint Select Committee is fully established it will be tasked to look at all of those reports and recommendations documented from over 8 years of work and funding.
Equally important is understanding that if the work of this committee seeks to win the support of all Australians, it will require a level of leadership and political vision to inspire change that can only come about by consensus and consistent bi-partisan support.
Senator McCarthy says 'I think it is incumbent on the parliament to make sure that there is a process that is followed through as a result of the enormous support to, the whole Recognise and the Referendum Council dialogues.'
'What we’ve pushed for, and this is the politics of the situation is that we did not want the Voice and the discussion around the Makarrata commission to be included and that is really the win here.'
The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples has also welcomed the creation of the Joint Select Committee.
In a statement Congress says 'The formation and aims of this committee necessarily must build on the considerable work of the Expert Panel and the Referendum Council before it. Equally important is understanding that if the work of this committee seeks to win the support of all Australians, it will require a level of leadership and political vision to inspire change that can only come about by consensus and consistent bi-partisan support.'
'National Congress can contribute greatly to this committee. As a representative voice of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders since 2011, any fruitful discussion on the topics of a proposed voice to parliament and constitutional recognition deserves our input.'
It is to be noted that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 (the Act) is due to sunset on 28th March 2018.
