Isn't there a chance that the Voice will have some of the unintended effects that legal experts have been worried about?
The proposed new section 129 has been very carefully drafted, with the need to avoid ‘unintended consequences’ in mind. The text and structure of the provision and the consistency of the discussions of it in the Parliament make any ‘unintended consequences’ extremely unlikely.
The Parliament would also have a broad power to adjust the functions of the Voice and its interaction with government and Parliament in the new section 129(iii). A Constitution Convention would not be a useful forum for further refining the wording of an already developed proposal like this.
The proposed section already limits the scope for representations to ‘matters relating to’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, which captures well the scope of the authority to make representations that is intended.