This ANTAR Factsheet outlines the history of ‘Voice’ bodies: that is, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representative structures which are designed to ensure First Nations people have a say in the decision making processes that affect their lives, families and communities.
​​Article 18 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states:
“Indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters that affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves in accordance with their own procedures, as well as to maintain and develop their own Indigenous decision making institutions.”
The ability of First Nations peoples to secure and advance their right to meaningful self-determination hinges at least in part on their ability to participate in Federal decision-making through a representative body that is elected, accountable and enduring. As we will see, the need for and existence of such a body has been a highly contested and dynamic issue in Australian politics, and tracing the ultimate fates of representative structures over the years begs the question: even when First Nations peoples have and use their Voice(s), why are they being silenced?