14 Oct 2023

"No" vote would be setback for Australia's Pacific relations

From , 6:02 am on 14 October 2023
(FILES) Tourists stand under an Aboriginal and Australian national flag located on the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on September 27, 2023, ahead of the upcoming "Voice" referendum. A referendum aimed at elevating the rights of Indigenous Australians has instead triggered a torrent of racist slurs and abuse, with toxic debate spreading online and in the media. The October 14 vote will decide whether to finally recognise First Nation peoples in the constitution as Australia's first inhabitants. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Photo: DAVID GRAY

A Papua New Guinean academic based in Australia says a "no" vote outcome in the Voice referendum on Saturday will be a setback for Australia's country-to-country and people-to-people relations in the Pacific.

In a nutshell the government is asking the Australian people whether they agree to recognising the First Peoples of Australia in the Constitution by establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Some Pacific leaders have voiced a keen interest in the outcome of the vote saying it would have an impact on how Australia is viewed as a country in the region.

The University of Canberra's Dr Bal Kama is a practicing lawyer and adjunct assistant professor at the Faculty of Business, Government and Law.

He spoke with RNZ Pacific Editor, Koroi Hawkins who began by asking where the Pacific's interest in Australia's referendum stems from.