Our research shows public support for a First Nations Voice is not only high, it’s deeply entrenched

Abstract

There has been a gradual firming up of positive attitudes towards legal reform for Indigenous people overall.

Because of this, support for a constitutional change is unlikely to collapse in the course of a referendum campaign.

In surveys over 40 years, the results tell a remarkably consistent story.

Though it would have been unthinkable in the 1980s, the clear trend since then is towards more favourable attitudes on Indigenous issues.

Much has been written about why Indigenous recognition is important.

Such recognition would be a legal change to address the dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their lands and rights, and the widescale damage to Indigenous lives and culture.

At the top of the recognition agenda is a national First Nations Voice to Parliament. This would be an advisory body made up of Indigenous Australians that would interact with parliament and review bills affecting Indigenous people.

Currently, the reform enjoys support from both the federal government and opposition, though exactly how to achieve this reform remains a point of contention.

If the Voice goes ahead, one big question is whether the change should be made via the Constitution – and the level of public support for such a change.