Talk to put voice vote in context

AN upcoming public lecture aims to give context to the voice to Parliament referendum.

With a focus on what the referendum says about the effectiveness of contemporary democratic process, the talk will also examine whether the voice is aligned with the goals of the Australian Constitution as it was written in the 1890s.

A constitutional law expert from the University of Sydney, Professor Emerita Anne Twomey, will present the lecture and lead the discussion.

La Trobe Law School associate dean of learning and teaching Dr Madelaine Chiam said the Bendigo law school campus has previously offered public lectures in the name of Sir John Quick to acknowledge the role he played in the creation of the Australian constitution.

Dr Chiam said the lecture was back this year after postponements during the pandemic, and in deciding the topic for this year, the October referendum was an easy choice.

“It seemed obvious, that in a year where we are going to have a referendum for the first time in 30 years, that the Sir John Quick Lecture should focus on the question of referenda in Australia,” said Dr Chiam.

“We asked Professor Twomey to speak about referenda in Australia in the context of the voice referendum, but it’s also part of the 150-year celebration of tertiary education in Bendigo.”

Dr Chiam said La Trobe aims to be a trusted authority for information on the voice to Parliament referendum in a world where misinformation is rife.

“One of the principles that La Trobe is really committed to is the idea that we can help to be a reliable source of information about the upcoming referendum, that we can help our communities by doing public events like this lecture,” said Dr Chiam.

“There are a lot of sources out there and there’s a lot of misinformation out there about the referendum.

“I think it’s important as a university that we support all of the communities where our campuses are based to give people an opportunity to get reliable information that helps to support their decision making.”

The free lecture, What Does History Tell Us about Australians and Referendums?, will be held on Tuesday 5 September at The Capital from 6pm to 7.15pm and attendees must register.