An Indigenous voice to Parliament would have widespread support from the public, according to a national survey on constitutional values.
The survey conducted in August by an Australian Research Council-funded team and led by Griffith University, UNSW Sydney, University of Sydney and the Australian National University found public support for the proposed representative Indigenous advisory body was “much stronger than expected.”
Conducted among a representative sample of 1,526 adults from all states and territories, age ranges, gender and political affiliations, the survey found 71 per cent generally supported recognition, and 61 per cent supported the representative Voice to Parliament.
An Indigenous advisory body enjoyed 55 per cent support among Coalition voters, despite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week rejecting the recommendation as neither “desirable nor capable of winning acceptance in a referendum.”
58 per cent supported formal agreements between governments and Indigenous people, 19 per cent strongly.
Griffith University’s John Parkinson says the results give clear reason to doubt assertions that the Uluru statement is “unrealistic or unachievable.”
