21 August 2023
Parliamentary Research Brief – Voice Referendum Question May be Constitutionally Invalid For Misleading And Misinforming Voters
The Institute of Public Affairs recently received legal advice from leading Victorian barrister and constitutional law expert Mr Stuart Wood KC about the lawfulness of the proposed referendum question to insert into the Australian Constitution an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice’. The federal government has proposed the following referendum question for voters to answer: A Proposed Law: to alter
17 July 2023
Institute Of Public Affairs Research Note Regarding The Legal Risks Of The Voice
The following research note was prepared by the Institute of Public Affairs (the IPA) regarding the potential legal risks associated with the federal government’s proposal to insert into the Australian Constitution the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice (the Voice). At the National Press Club on 5 July 2023, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney MP asserted that the
30 June 2023
Bluff Called On Voice With South Australia’s Cynical Ploy
“The decision to delay the introduction of the much-vaunted South Australian Voice to Parliament is a cynical ploy designed to stop the community from knowing the facts about the massive scope and operation of the proposed Canberra Voice,” said Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs. As reported today in the Financial Review, the South Australian
16 June 2023
Undemocratic, Unfair, Complex And Divisive – An Analysis Of The Calma-Langton Report
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has provided little detail about how his proposed Indigenous-only Voice to Parliament will work in practice. When pressed for more detail about this proposed amendment to the Australian Constitution, the Prime Minister’s only response has been frequent, direct, and explicit references to the model developed through a Voice Co-design process (‘the Calma-Langton Model Voice’) and published
16 June 2023
Analysis Of The Calma-langton Report Shows How Radical And Divisive Voice Will Be
“It is becoming clearer by the day that Australians are sick and tired of being treated like fools by Voice to Parliament advocates who simply refuse to explain what changing our Constitution will mean for our nation,” said John Storey, Director of the Institute of Public Affairs’ Legal Rights Program. It has become a hallmark of the referendum campaign that
15 June 2023
It’s The Constitution, It’s The Vibe… It’s Water Justice
In this article, Brianna McKee contextualises and disseminates the findings of the IPA’s research into the similarities between the Waitangi Tribunal and the proposed Voice to Parliament, conducted as part of the IPA’s analysis of the Voice to Parliament. The IPA has been researching the consequences a potential Voice to Parliament would have to the political freedom, liberty, and equality
14 February 2023
New Zealand’s Failed Experiment Highlights Voice To Parliament Dangers
“New Zealand’s failed Māori Voice to Parliament, the Waitangi Tribunal, which the Prime Minister held up as a model for Australia, has imposed dangerous policies that puts a person’s race above all other considerations in government decision making,” said John Storey, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs A new research report from the IPA, New Zealand’s Māori Voice
10 February 2023
Australians Support A Free And Fair Debate On Voice: A Review Of Submissions On The Federal Government’s Voice Referendum Amendment Proposals
The Albanese government has proposed suspending the law requiring the government to fund the publication and distribution of an official pamphlet setting out the “Yes” and the “No” case for any referendum to change the Australian constitution. This means there would be no publicly funded information campaign to inform voters of the arguments for and against changing the Australian constitution
10 February 2023
Australians Support A Free And Fair Debate On The Voice
“Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was right to pressure the Prime Minister into distributing critical information on the proposed Voice to Parliament to all households, ensuring there is a free and fair debate,” said John Storey, Research Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs. The Federal Government’s backflip on its plan to prohibit the distribution of a pamphlet setting out the
16 December 2022
IPA Poll: Australians Do Not Believe It Is Racist To Oppose The Voice To Parliament
“Mainstream Australians have shattered the elitist disinformation campaign that says, ‘if you oppose the Indigenous-only Voice to Parliament you are a racist’,” said Morgan Begg, Director of the Legal Rights Program at the Institute of Public Affairs. New research conducted by the IPA, asked 1,000 Australians for their opinions on the proposed Indigenous-only Voice to Parliament. When asked; “Is it
