Final Report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

On 19 March 2018, the Parliament agreed that a Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples be appointed to inquire into and report on matters relating to constitutional change, including the proposal for the establishment of a First Nations Voice. The resolution of appointment requires the Committee to consider a wide range of matters, including recommendations of the Referendum Council (2017), the Statement from the Heart (2017), the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (2015), and the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians (2012). 1.5 Acknowledging the significant shift in the ongoing discussions about constitutional change and recognition represented by the Statement from the Heart, which was announced only 10 months before the Committee was appointed, the Committee came to the view that its primary task was to expand on the detail of the proposal for a First Nations Voice. 1.6 While The Voice has been the Committee’s focus, the Committee has also considered the proposals for truth-telling and agreement making arising from the Statement from the Heart, as well as other proposals for constitutional change and recognition. The final report of the Committee is intended to reflect the evidence received across the wide range of matters included in the Committee’s resolution of appointment. The report sets out the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations in relation to these matters. 1.20 Readers are reminded that this report should be read in conjunction with the Committee’s interim report, which considers in detail the evidence received earlier in the inquiry.