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Proposals to write a so-called Voice to Parliament into our Constitution will divide Australians along racial lines. This would be bad for our democracy and our nation.

We are all equal.

Today the IPA is proud to release our Race Has No Place research video, in which Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Dr Anthony Dillon, Senator James McGrath and Dr Lorraine Finlay explain why they are opposed to a constitutionally-enshrined Voice to Parliament.

Providing opportunity and prosperity for indigenous communities is important, but a referendum asking Australians to divide themselves by race is not the solution.

Watch our video now, and see why Race Has No Place in our constitution.

Australia’s political, business, and community leaders must outline a vision for a united and successful Australia, rather than seeking to divide Australians by race.

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Recent calls to enshrine an “Indigenous Voice” to Parliament in the Constitution, and to hold a referendum to amend the Constitution accordingly, have been made by a small number of large corporations, sections of the media, and the political class.

The Institute of Public Affairs opposes the proposal to hold a referendum which would ask Australians to divide themselves by race. Even just asking the question risks permanently dividing Australians according to the colour of their skin.

Many Indigenous communities face a range of challenges, from high unemployment, violence, and high rates of incarceration. But the solutions to these problems are the same for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: access to the dignity of work, crime free communities, stable families, access to home ownership, and economic opportunity. These pillars underpin human flourishing regardless of race.

Australia’s political, business, and community leaders must outline a vision for a united and successful Australia, rather than seeking to divide Australians by race.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Martin Luther King Jr, 28 August 1963

What is the Australian Constitution?

The federal government is planning a referendum to change the Australian Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The Australian Constitution should unite all Australians. It is the founding document of our nation as a free country.

Australia is one of the world’s oldest and most successful democracies because our Constitution is based on the idea of the equality of all Australians.

The Constitution is the ‘rulebook’ of government. It is not a place for politicians of the day to impose their personal and political values.

Changing the Constitution by dividing Australians according to race or ethnic background makes us all less equal.

Race has no place in the Australian Constitution.

Download 'A positive case for equality in the Australian Constitution'