Over the past few days, weeks and months – like many in Australia – I have seen and been part of some very reasonable, emotional and though provoking conversations about the upcoming Voice Referendum.

Having sat on the sidelines during much of this conversation (typical lawyer, why voice an opinion when it might offside your clients!), I’m now of the view that this Referendum is our Brexit moment.

Frankly, it requires people to declare how they will vote.

So, leaving to one side all the emotional reasons why we must vote “yes” and give our First Nation people a Voice – and boy are there a lot, as someone who has been dedicated to the law for more than 25 years, I ask how can we possibly allow this:

Under the Australian Constitution, the Commonwealth has full legislative power, if it chooses to exercise it, over the Northern Territory, and has devolved self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory legislature does not have the legislative independence of the Australian states but has power in all matters not in conflict with the Constitution and applicable Commonwealth laws, but subject to a Commonwealth veto.

without giving the majority of those First Nation people subject to these laws a Voice?

Simply put: we cannot.

So that’s why I’ll be voting yes on 14 October.

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Photo credit to Brett Jordan