Voice To Parliament: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Media Bias and Narrative Construction of the Australian Referendum from the Perspective of The Guardian Australia, Sky News Australia and National Indigenous Times

This dissertation explores the ideological and discursive dimensions of Australian media coverage surrounding the Voice to Parliament referendum, a landmark proposal aimed at constitutionally enshrining Indigenous representation in national decision-making. Framed within the broader historical and political context of colonization, reconciliation, and Indigenous activism, the study examines how three distinct news outlets, The Guardian Australia, National Indigenous Times, and Sky News Australia, construct media narratives about the Voice proposal. The research begins with a review of Australia's colonial past, tracing the socio-political marginalisation of Indigenous peoples and the emergence of reconciliation discourse in the late 20th century. Then, the development of the Voice to Parliament proposal is examined, analysing how political discourse and public debate have shaped its reception. Special attention is given to the roles of discourse and ideology, drawing on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and framing theory to understand how language choices influence public perception and attitudes towards government policies. This study employed the corpus analysis software LancsBox X, to carry out the discourse analysis of the three different corpora and analyse lexical and semantic patterns. The dataset comprises articles from the three aforementioned media sources, each representing a distinct ideological standpoint, progressive, Indigenous-focused, and conservative. By comparing keyword frequencies, collocational patterns, and thematic frames, the analysis reveals significant differences in how the Voice is framed across outlets. Findings indicate that The Guardian Australia emphasizes themes of justice, inclusion, and historical redress, often employing moral and empathetic framing. National Indigenous Times centres Indigenous reconciliation and sovereignty, straying from canonical conceptual metaphors. The newspaper promotes an Indigenous-led discourse aimed at de-constructing western-like narratives. In contrast, Sky News Australia often frames the Voice as divisive, using alarmist language to frame the referendum as a threat to democracy. The study contributes to the theory that framing and metaphor not only reflect ideological leanings but also actively shape the public’s understanding of Indigenous constitutional recognition. The conclusion gives further insights to critical discourse studies and media linguistics by highlighting the intersection of language, ideology, and Indigenous rights in contemporary Australia. It is underscored the power of media framing in legitimizing or contesting socio-political change, especially in contexts marked by historical injustice and ongoing struggles for recognition.