Voice of Reason

Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a 'constitutional moment' that offers a new vision of Australia

This essential Quarterly Essay seeks to do two things- to make the strongest, clearest possible case for the Voice to Parliament. And to draw out the significance and the promise of this reform - what it could mean for recognition and justice.

Megan Davis presents the Voice as an Australian solution to an Australian problem. For the First Nations, it is a practical response to "the torment of our powerlessness." Davis argues that it will increase accountability across a range of areas, from Juukan Gorge to youth detention to child protection. She shows that we have arrived at a "constitutional moment" that brings with it a new vision of Country and community.

About the Author

Megan Davis is Professor of Constitutional Law at UNSW, a global Indigenous rights expert on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and a former chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. She was the first person to read out the Uluru Statement from the Heart, at Uluru in May 2017.