This is the culmination of a long process by Indigenous Australians to work out how they can move forward with non-Indigenous Australia given everything that has happened over the last 253 years. Indigenous leaders and elders from all around the country spent years talking to each other, which resulted in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. That statement calls for the government to enable a constitutionaly enshrined Voice to Parliament and a Makaratta Commission (this would assist governments with the processes of treaty and truth telling).

It's important to note that the Labor government is not inventing this out of nowhere. The referendum is happening because they have listened to what Indigenous Australians are asking for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart and are attempting to implement it, despite recent polling, out of respect. Indigenous Australians have been asking for this since 2017, and deserve the opportunity to take it to a referendum.

The referendum is just a vote on the Voice to Parliament. You are being asked whether an Indigenous Voice to Parliament should be enshrined in the constitution. It would be able to proactively and reactively make recommendations to government, but it would have no power to change things by itself. It is not a third chamber of parliament, it is just an advisory committee made up solely of Indigenous Australians. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, other advisory committees for Indigenous Australians often have a very low percentage of Indigenous Australians actually working for them, which means their advice is still just mostly coming from a non-Indigenous perspective. Secondly, it solves the issue of governments continually disbanding Indigenous advisory committees every time they come into power. Governments cannot change the constitution, so if there is an advisory committee in the constitution it will have more security.