A Voice to Parliament could be used by oppositions and minor parties to draw up policies that would affect Indigenous people, similar to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus also says the advisory body would give ministers “a running start” in coming up with ideas such as how best to keep Indigenous children out of jail.
The nation’s chief law officer anticipates that while the Parliament will decide how the Voice’s advice will be delivered, all federal politicians will be able to hear from it, in the same way the Parliamentary Budget Office can be used by any MP as an independent source of policy costings.
“It’s a voice to Parliament. That’s the key to this,” Mr Dreyfus told The West Australian when asked if he envisaged oppositions being able to consult the body.
“It’s not just to the executive government of the Commonwealth. The Parliament means all of the 227 members.”
The constitutional change being put to voters on October 14 says the Voice may make representations – a legal term for advice – to the Parliament and executive government.
Mr Dreyfus also used the example of the justice reinvestment scheme in his portfolio, which aims to fund programs that help keep Indigenous Australians, particularly young people, out of courts and jails.
His department has had to reach out people asking for ideas on what form justice reinvestment should take.
“If the Voice already existed, I would already have, through the Voice from local communities across Australia, a direction that I could be taking on justice reinvestment,” he said.
“I’d have a running start, which I don’t presently have on a matter like justice reinvestment.
“And it will mean … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accepting responsibility for the laws and policies that are being made about them.”
The Voice could also offer advice on improving school attendance, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney will tell the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in Perth on Wednesday.
She points to the $270 million spent since 2014 on the remote school attendance strategy, which includes five schools in the Kimberley and seven in the Pilbara.
“Across the 84 schools in the program attendance has actually gone backwards. Backwards. Even before COVID,” Ms Burney says, according to speech notes seen by The West.
“It’s what happens when governments make policies for Indigenous communities, not with communities.”
She says the Government and Parliament would have a two-way relationship with the Voice.
“As the Minister, I will go to the Voice and say, ‘This school attendance program isn’t working. Help me to get the best possible advice to fix it’,” she says.
“By contrast, those arguing for a No vote would have us here in another nine years – having spent another $270 million or more – with even worse results, with even lower school attendance among First Nations students.”
The form and functions of the Voice will ultimately be up to Parliament to legislate in the event of a successful referendum.
Mr Dreyfus likened it to elections: the constitution says there will be an election every three years, but makes no mention of compulsory or preferential voting or the Australian Electoral Commission.
“Over time, the Parliament has developed quite an intricate electoral system but it’s not in the constitution,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who opposes a constitutionally enshrined Voice, said without the design details many people didn’t understand the model.
“The design of the Voice starts after the vote’s taken place on October 14, which is quite remarkable,” he said on Tuesday.