An Indigenous Voice to Parliament could help the nation come to terms with its cultural identity, according to the ACT's top legal prosecutor, who is yet to be convinced of any arguments against establishing the proposal.
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The Canberra Times contacted the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold about his views on the Voice, which he has described as an "important moment in time" for the nation.
"In my view, this referendum is beyond race, and goes to the Australian national identity," Mr Drumgold said.
"I think the Voice is an important moment in time that will provide a snapshot of the current Australian cultural psyche that our future generations will no doubt reflect upon."
The head silk was appointed as the ACT DPP in 2018 and was the Crown prosecutor in the trial against Bruce Lehrmann in the Brittany Higgins case.
Mr Drumgold declined to specify whether or not he would support the "yes" case in the forthcoming referendum and said how to vote was very much a personal matter for people and should be surrounded by respectful debate.
Mr Drumgold, whose legal career began with the Aboriginal Legal Service, said he believed the nation's historical colonial influences have led to a "somewhat distorted sense of the true Australian cultural identity".
"In my view, the Voice could be the first step in Australia coming to terms with its true cultural identity beyond colonisation through a constitutionally enshrined information channel with First Nations people," he said.
"Such an information channel could be central to an appreciation of Australia's history."
He argued that Australians did not hold the same sense of their own cultural history as appreciated internationally.
He pointed to celebrated European landmarks such as the Colosseum, Acropolis or Stonehenge, or classical literature such as Homer's Iliad or Livy's History of Rome.
"Yet to my observation, there is insufficient appreciation or celebration of our First Nations history, and less appreciation of its millennia-old culture and traditions, a situation that appears unique to Australia," he said.
"We are unfortunately still arguing over whether or not people should be allowed to walk over culturally significant sites such as Uluru, or the cultural cost of the tragic destruction of 46,000-year-old rock art in Juukan Gorge."
Although he stressed the importance around what could a nation-building moment for Australia, he did warn that referendums are hard to get up, with only eight out of 44 referendums succeeding since federation.
For a referendum to succeed, it must obtain a double majority, with the majority of votes nationally, and also with a majority in four out of the six states.
But votes in the ACT and Northern Territory only count toward the national vote.
"It is unfortunate that for the second test, citizens of the ACT and NT such as myself do not enjoy the same rights as the citizens of the states," Mr Drumgold said.
"It is my experience that the ACT population take their role of citizenry very seriously and I am confident that regardless of the outcome, the ACT will have an informed vote, and I hope the same for the rest of Australia."
Mr Drumgold said the main ingredient for a successful referendum was bipartisanship, or multi-party support, which is currently absent.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was hoping for bipartisan support, but the Coalition has said they will be actively campaigning against the Voice proposal.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the proposal lacks detail, opens up the potential for High Court challenges and would add a layer of bureaucracy to government.
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Mr Drumgold rejected "doomsday scenarios" being touted by opponents, stating that the proposed amendment to section 129 of the constitution was clear.
"On my reading, this means that the actual functions, powers and procedures of the Voice will not be determined by the proposed constitutional amendment," he said.
"Rather they will effectively be determined by the Australian people through the ballot box."
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