Ask a group of voters about how much they know about the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament and you're bound to get a few complaining they don't know enough about it.
So let's take a look at the facts for the Yes and No cases as provided by MPs and Senators and circulated by the Electoral Commission in recent weeks.
Australian voters are being asked to vote either yes or no to altering "the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".
This means that if the referendum is successful, the government will move to establish a permanent body, with the ability to make representations to the government, its departments and agencies, to provide advice on laws relating to Indigenous people. The government would not be bound by the advice of the body.
What the body looks like - including its composition, functions, powers and procedures - can be determined and changed by the government of the day.
THE REASONS TO VOTE YES
1. The idea for the Voice came directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and yes voters are supporting a proposal back by over 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
2. Constitutional recognition is a powerful statement that will drive practical change. Yes voters are sending a powerful message to the world about Australia's unity.
3. The Voice is a vehicle to deliver real improvements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in life expectancy, infant mortality and health, education and employment. Supporters of the yes vote say the current approach is broken and the Voice is our best chance to fix it.
4. Voting yes will mean reconciling our past and moving to a better future. Other nations with similar histories, like Canada and New Zealand, formally recognised their own First Peoples decades ago.
5. Voting yes will save money because, yes proponents argue, governments from both sides have invested billions in programs that haven't fixed problems or reached communities. They say a Voice will help us listen to locals and save money.
6. The time is right now. The idea of a Voice has been decades in the making.
7. The Voice will advise on practical steps to improve Indigenous health, education, employment and housing. Yes proponents say putting the Voice in the Constitution gives it stability and independence, now and into the future. This means the Voice can give frank advice, without getting caught up in short-term politics.
8. Voting yes means governments will get better advice and deliver better outcomes. The change has been backed by constitutional experts, including senior lawyers and former High Court judges, who have been part of this process.
THE REASONS TO VOTE NO
1. The Voice is legally risky. Enshrining a Voice in the Constitution means it is open to legal challenge and interpretation by the High Court. Legal experts don't agree, and can't know for sure, how the High Court will interpret such a constitutional change.
2. There are no details. We don't know how it will help disadvantaged communities or how many members will be elected, or how this would occur.
3. Enshrining in our Constitution a body for only one group of Australians means permanently dividing Australians.
4. It won't help Indigenous Australians. There are currently hundreds of Indigenous representative bodies at all levels of government, along with the National Indigenous Australians Agency, which has 1400 staff. A centralised Voice risks overlooking the needs of regional communities.
5. This Voice model isn't just to the Parliament, it goes to "Executive Government" that includes all departments and agencies. Legal experts have expressed concern about its scope.
6. It risks delays and dysfunction. Many legal experts have warned the Voice could cause considerable delays in decision making creating a risk of dysfunctional government.
7. What comes next? Already, many activists are campaigning to abolish Australia Day, change our flag and other institutions and symbols.
8. It will be costly and bureaucratic. We don't know how much additional funding would be allocated to this Voice.
9. This Voice will be permanent. This Voice is not a trial or pilot program. It will not be legislation that can be reversed.
10. There are better ways forward.
- Source: The Australian Government's Referendum Booklet. Both the yes and no sides of the debate were provided with a word count of 2000 words to present their arguments. The Yes campaign provided 8 reasons and the No campaign provided 10.
