On 4 May the Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies (ANCLAS) and the ANU First Nations Portfolio, supported by the Embassy of Chile, co-hosted the second in a series of conversations with experts from Latin American countries – in this case focussing on the experience of Chile - to compare and contrast approaches to Indigenous issues. The series is intended to contribute to the discussion in the lead-up to a referendum to amend the Australian Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The Vice President, First Nations Portfolio, Peter Yu, provided an overview of past efforts in Australia to achieve recognition and representation of Indigenous peoples culminating in 2017 with the Uluru Statement from the Heart which expressly called “for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution”. He drew attention to the announcement on 23 March 2023 of a draft referendum question and Constitutional amendment to that end, which had been contested by some despite legal and other assurances provided by experts to rebut some of the claims and concerns.

The panel of experts on Chile’s experience, Veronica Figueroa Huencho (University of Chile), Dany Jaimovic (University of Talca) and Richard Sanders (Woodrow Wilson Centre), referred to the history of conflict, dispossession and disenfranchisement of the Indigenous population in Chile since colonisation by Spain. They noted that 13 per cent of Chileans identified as Indigenous, the majority being Mapuche people. In common with Australia, Indigenous people played no part in the formation of the Chilean state; yet they were incorporated into it.

In 2022, a Constitutional Convention agreed on a new draft constitution, which included several articles recognising and protecting Indigenous rights. It was put to a referendum in September 2022 but failed. A new more limited process for constitutional review is currently underway with a view to putting a second draft to a referendum in December 2023. Panellists discussed the provisions of the 2022 draft relating to Indigenous issues, the reasons why the draft was rejected, the prospects for the current process including similar rights and, ultimately, the likelihood of the draft Constitution being adopted in a second referendum.

A full recording of the discussion can be viewed here.