Pamphlets written by politicians and published by the AEC have put the official case for a yes and no vote. They were not independently factchecked before publication, so Guardian Australia has added notes to the full essays to help you make better sense of them
This whole thing started in 2015 as a joint effort between the Liberal and Labor government to investigate “Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”.
They appointed 16 people who spent two years meeting thousands of indigenous people from all over Australia to discuss the issue. The indigenous nations were inspired by that and got together separately, sending 250 of their delegates (mostly Elders) to Uluru where they had a four day meeting and produced the Uluru Statement from the Heart which includes these two lines:
A couple months later, the advisory body created by the Liberal and Labor government produced their final report:
Even though it was a joint effort between the Liberal and Labor parties, the Liberal party was in power and ignored it. They did nothing at all. For years, they did nothing.
As soon as the Labor party won an election they acted, and here we are, about to vote on a referendum that was called for by representatives of both indigenous Australia and by Australian politicians (both left and right wing politicians).
As for “is it any good for Aboriginals”… well, why not ask them? We have asked them, and they loudly and clearly said they want this. There might be a few individuals in the indigenous community who disagree but the overwhelming majority asked for The Voice, so clearly they think it’s a good idea.
This is very well written and gets to the core of the issue. The aboriginal people have already spoken - years ago. The Uluru Statement from the Heart is the only piece of documentation anyone should need as to whether the aboriginal people as a representative body want this.
Thanks for the explanation.