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What is the Status of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Process: The Decision End Point or a Decision-Making Aid? A Conflict Management Perspective

         Divergent public opinion and controversy has arisen in Australia over a referendum the Federal Government intends to hold later this year.

Specifically, that an advisory body known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice (“the Voice”) may make representations to Parliament and the Executive on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

However, the available information to facilitate voting about the “the Voice process” at the referendum has been an issue.

    A conflict management framework was applied to address this issue.

The focus was on the “interests” (or needs and concerns)

about the Voice process

that the public have in relation to the referendum question –

 rather than the voting “position” they may hold.

The features of “the Voice process” were compared with public participation processes for resolving public interest conflicts: Processes which already exist and are equally available to all Australians, regardless of ethnicity or race viz. community consultation and Commissions of Inquiry.

Any concern that the Voice “will give Indigenous Australians rights and privileges that other Australians don’t have” would be offset if “the Voice process” was consistent with the existing decision-making framework for public participation processes in Australia.

This would require the Voice

to be acknowledged as a decision-making aid

and not the decision-end point.


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KEY WORDS: Australia; Referendum; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice; conflict management; UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Essential Report; needs; concerns; public participation; community consultation; Commissions of Inquiry; decisions.


“Dr. Ted Christie, Barrister and Mediator, Queensland Bar, says it is prudent for the Government agency to recognise the Indigenous community as an expert agency with respect to evaluating aspects of the use of natural resources that relate to their legal rights.

 Christie also acknowledges the Government's recent statement of support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [2007], which promotes, amongst other things, the full and effective participation by Indigenous peoples in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development."

From the press release for the National Native Title Law Summit 

hosted by LexisNexis, 2009, Ju



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