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Labor is trying to rort the system by changing the rules to favour a Yes vote for the Voice in the upcoming referendum.

Any proposal to change our Constitution should be carefully considered by voters.

This consideration should be informed by a public debate where arguments for and against change are examined openly and fairly.

Rigged

However, the Albanese Labor Government wants to change the longstanding Australian referendum rules by:

• Abolishing the official yes and no pamphlet which is normally delivered beforehand to every household;
• Cancelling public funding of both cases in favour of a so-called “civic education” campaign, which will be heavily biased for the Voice;
• Allowing tax deductibility of donations only for the Yes campaign; and
• Using taxpayer funding for educational initiatives to counter so-called “misinformation”, which presumably would just be from the No side.

By way of background, there also needs to be a full and proper debate on the risks of entrenching the Voice into our nation’s Constitution, as effectively a “third chamber of Parliament”, which would contravene the principle that all Australians have equal rights and representation under law.

Ill-Conceived

Another real concern is that the  Albanese Labor Government wants the Australian people to sign a blank cheque by voting for the Indigenous Voice in the forthcoming referendum before any details on its “composition, functions, powers and procedures” are released.

If this national advisory body was seen as essential, it would be much more prudent to just legislate it into existence without ever putting it into the Constitution, as it could turn out like ATSIC (the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) which had to be wound up in 2005 because of dysfunction and financial integrity issues.

So please send an brief email submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters opposing the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 BEFORE the deadline of 4 pm Brisbane time today, Thursday 15 December. There is no point in making the case against the Voice itself to this Committee, rather just against the changes to the referendum rules which would subvert the democratic process.

If you cannot make a submission by the deadline, it may be possible for a short extension of time, if you contact the committee’s secretariat to request this at em@aph.gov.au.

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By Queensland Conservatives. Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova.