In a historic move, South Australia (SA) on Sunday became the first jurisdiction in Australia to establish an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
The much-awaited legislation for the Voice was passed during a special sitting of parliament, with thousands of people gathering in Adelaide, the capital city of the Australian state of SA, to celebrate, multiple local media outlets reported.
The SA Parliament passed the bill creating the Voice, which has been assented to by the governor in a ceremonial meeting of the state’s executive council, local broadcaster ABC News reported.
The move comes ahead of the referendum to enshrine a federal body in the constitution.
Addressing the parliament, SA Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas dubbed the legislation as “momentous” for the state’s Indigenous people.
“It has been a long time coming but First Nations Voices will now be heard in the state of South Australia,” he said.
Representatives for the South Australian Voice will be elected in the coming months, with the mechanism expected to be running before the end of the year, the channel reported.
“We will embrace the opportunity the Voice gives us to infuse our parliament, our democracy, with the knowledge and experience of our First Nations, particularly on matters that pertain to their future, which is indivisible from our own,” Malinauskas was quoted as saying.
The SA legislation allows for the establishment of six regions across the state, each with directly elected representatives.
Two members from each group will then form the State First Nations Voice, which will be able to address either house of the state legislature on legislation affecting Aboriginal people.
Source: Anadolu Agency