Introducing the bill in parliament, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the referendum, to be held between October and December, would be an opportunity to acknowledge history and help Australians come together “for a more reconciled future.”
“We will all stand with a clean heart and a clean conscience and we will know our country is on the path to a better direction,” Dreyfus said.
Australians will be asked if they want to change the constitution to create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice – a consultative committee providing non-binding advice to parliament on matters that affect them.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week revealed the question the government wants to set in the referendum and urged Australians to back what he described as a long overdue vote.