Submission To The Inquiry Into The Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022

Dear Secretary,

Since 1943 the Institute of Public Affairs has been committed to defending and extending the Australian way of life and mainstream Australian values. Central to the Australian way of life is the right of every Australian to have a say about the major political and cultural issues which affect them.

On 1 December 2022 the Albanese government introduced into the House of Representatives the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022 (“The Bill”). The purpose of the Bill is to reform the way referendums are conducted in Australia, with particular application to the conduct and regulation of the forthcoming proposed referendum to insert into the Australian Constitution an Indigenous-only Voice to Parliament.

The purpose of this submission is to share with the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters the Institute of Public Affairs’ legal analysis of the Bill, as well as other research of the IPA relevant to the Joint Standing Committee’s inquiry.