Curtin University’s Student Guild has expressed their ‘unequivocal’ support for the Voice to Parliament referendum that will be held later this year.
The National Union of Students – Australia’s peak representative body for students studying higher education – have also shown support for the referendum, and have called on all Australian universities to host events in support of the Voice.
The Voice to Parliament is a proposed representative body allowing First Nations people to advise the Australian government on policies that affect them.
A referendum is likely to be held between October and December this year and will ask Australians if they approve an alteration to the constitution to include an Indigenous Voice.
Speaking at the National Union of Student’s Education Conference earlier this month, NUS General Secretary Sheldon Gait says not much has been done on university campuses to educate students on the Voice referendum.
“There are 750,000 domestic students on campuses and most of them weren’t alive for the 1967 referendum,” Gait says.
“Our job is to inform them so when they arrive at the voting booth they have an informed opinion.”