Reference no: EM133524306
Case Study: The Voice, social inequality and social change
Later this year, Australia will hold a referendum on having an Indigenous Voice to Parliament written into the constitution. That is, Australian citizens will be required to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to the following proposed referendum question:
"A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?"
The referendum, if successful, will see the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Voice - a body of ATSI people tasked with making representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Indigenous peoples. The full details of what Australians will be voting on in the referendum next year, can be found in the following article from ABC News:
What will Australians be voting on in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum? - ABC News
Indigenous Australians continue to experience poorer health, employment, and education outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians. They also continue to experience interpersonal and institutional forms of racism. Proponents of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament claim that the Voice will address these issues by ensuring Indigenous Australians are represented at the heart of policymaking. However, those against an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, including some conservative politicians, argue that the Voice breaches discrimination laws and is essentially co-governance. While many Indigenous Australians support the Voice, some are sceptical that the referendum will address serious issues of racial inequality and systemic violence and will in fact threaten Indigenous Sovereignty. Controversial Indigenous commentators on the Voice, such as NT senator, Jacinta Price, argue that the Voice is divisive and are instead in support of symbolic constitutional recognition of ATSI peoples. In short, the Voice debate represents a variety of viewpoints, highlighting issues of power, agency, structure and inequality in society, and the potential for social change - concepts that you have been learning about in Understanding Society.
With this in mind, students are asked to access the following library resources on the referendum, which form the basis of 'The Voice case study':
Students are encouraged to utilise the literature under the Uluru Statement, The Voice to Parliament and the Referendum tabs in the left hand navigation bar.
Question:
Having considered the arguments and issues raised in the library resources, which form the basis of the case study, and drawing on 3 ACADEMIC SOURCES, students will provide a response to the following question:
What are the key arguments for and against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Analyse the arguments sociologically to come to your own conclusion about the Voice to Parliament. You might want to draw on aspects of power, structure, agency, social inequality, and social change.