‘All about the money’: MP raises Indigenous voice concerns

Landowner disputes blamed for delays to the vaunted Wangetti Trail will become commonplace without offering far-reaching benefits if the nation votes yes on an Indigenous voice to parliament, according to a Far North MP.

INDIGENOUS landowner disputes at the centre of major delays to the construction of the Wangetti Trail will become commonplace without offering far-reaching benefits if the nation endorses an Indigenous voice to parliament, according to a Far North MP.

In September it was revealed complicated Indigenous land use agreements had contributed to a failure to build the 94km wilderness trail linking Palm Cove and Port Douglas that’s been on the drawing board since 2018.

The Wangetti Trail, is a proposed 76 kilometre dual use track in North Queensland stretching along the coastal plains and mountain hinterland between Palm Cove in the South and Port Douglas in the North. Picture by Romy Bullerjahn

Three Indigenous groups have been part of a voluntary Indigenous land use agreement but have been unable to reach an understanding with the state government.

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said infrastructure delays such as those occurring with the Wangetti Trail were the “tip of the iceberg” if the nation voted yes on a plan to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the constitution.

“My concern about a voice to parliament is a group of elitists will not represent the majority,” he said.

“You get a small group of individuals that hold out against the majority and it’s generally about the money.

Concerns about how an Indigenous voice to parliament will impact northern development have been raised. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“I know the consequences of not doing things right but we need to make sure this is not about generating significant income for a few. There is a lot of unanswered questions.

“Wangetti is the tip of the iceberg, we should have been reaping the benefits of that by now.”

Kennedy MP Bob Katter said “real change” was needed and not the “window dressing” of a bureaucratic move to provide an Indigenous voice.

“Our communities are at crisis point. We need access to fresh food, health care, education, work opportunities and, critically, the right to have freehold title to our homes,” Mr Katter said.

“Instead, we get a Labor government proposal that will divide and differentiate Australians.”

Mr Katter said 11 Indigenous members of parliament already represented First Nations peoples.

“Arguably, they haven’t achieved anything,” he said.

“For this to be coming from people that will not allow us to freehold title, we are not allowed to drink alcohol, you want to protect us and look after us?

“What my mob are telling me is that we’d prefer if you didn’t protect us with your paternalism. You just need to give us the same rights and freedoms as everyone else enjoys.”

Former Yarrabah mayor Mayor Percy Neal at False Cape.

Amid widespread criticism directed toward a costly referendum former Yarrabah Mayor Percy Neal reluctantly said he would advocate for a no vote for similar reasons to those expressed by Mr Katter.

“If (Mr) Albanese could show the same enthusiasm for treaty as for the voice to parliament, I think he’d be able to pull it off.

“Treaty is the only thing that everyone understands. People on the ground want something meaningful.”

In Queensland, a First Nations Consultative Committee has been established for 12 months to develop Queensland’s preferred Indigenous voice model.

The committee’s work will inform the state’s input to the national Indigenous voice process, according to a Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships spokesman.

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Originally published as ‘All about the money’: MP raises Indigenous voice concerns