State Voice to Parliament

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:00): My question to the Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs is: when will we see the First Nations Voice to Parliament represent their Voice to this parliament? Will it be in November, as he has previously advised?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:00): I thank the honourable member very much for her question. I was just speaking about this yesterday to the head of the secretariat of the First Nations Voice. The intention is at the end of this year. I believe that negotiations are currently underway for that to happen somewhere towards the start of that final scheduled sitting week at the end of November, before the potential optional sitting week. It is still scheduled for that.

Of course, discussions will be underway with the officers of the parliament to make sure how that will work, but I am very much looking forward to that first interaction with our South Australian State First Nations Voice with that first address, and then I expect over the course of next year contributions on pieces of legislation within the parliament.

I do note that there have been a couple of contributions already on legislation that the government has been developing. I think my colleague the Minister for Education, the member for Wright, the Hon. Blair Boyer, on a piece of legislation in the other chamber spoke about the changes that have been made as a result of some of the submissions that were put forward by the Voice.

It is very welcome that they are making a difference to what government does in terms of legislation. I would expect to see people from the Voice in this parliament more next year as their administrative practices and procedures are developed, and contributing not just in the development but actually to this chamber, as the legislation envisages.