Indigenous Voice stoush erupts over claims Constitutional recognition will leave Australians ‘divided’ regardless of result

A new stoush has erupted over the Indigenous Voice referendum as two high-profile critics argue it has left Aussies “divided”, regardless of result.

The referendum for an Indigenous voice to federal parliament will leave Australians “divided” regardless of result, warn two prominent Aboriginal leaders and vote critics.

South Australian Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle, 55, and NT Country Liberal Party colleague Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, 42, want better Indigenous “accountability and transparency”.

Former businesswoman Senator Liddle, the opposition child protection and prevention of family violence spokeswoman, and Senator Price, its Indigenous Australians representative, condemned the decision as being unhelpful for the country’s most vulnerable.

The high-profile no proponents warned “consultation is not consent” amid claims a tiny proportion of Aboriginal communities backed the vote.

But the Yes campaign hit back, insisting that its support for Constitutional recognition will unite Australians and improve countless lives.

Yes campaign officials said they agreed with Voice opponents for more focus on taxpayer money on Indigenous affairs “getting results”.

Senators, Kerrynne Liddle and Jacinta Price in Adelaide this week. Picture: Matt Loxton

In a joint interview in Adelaide, the Senators – who took office last year – said they would be forced to accept a yes vote if it won but any result, they argued, would require “rebuilding”.

“If it’s a yes vote, we’re stuck with it, it’s permanent, it’s in the Constitution, end of story,” said Senator Liddle.

“So we have to adapt with how to work. I think even now I feel it’s a tragedy that we’re pushing towards a referendum at a vote that’s barely 50-50, we will all lose.

“It’s a country divided. It’s not about bringing this nation together.

“This is not a nation building process. This is dividing us even further. And you know what those people are the (vulnerable) people who will feel it the most.”

The pair, leading Indigenous women who denied it was racist to vote no, said this year’s campaign was very different from the 1967 Referendum.

That referendum, which the Government only prepared a ‘Yes’ case for, led more than 90 per cent of Australians agreed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be counted in the Australian population and laws be made about them.

Senator Price, a former Alice Springs-based political leader, said the 2023 referendum “is about inequality because it’s pushing for an extra say over legislation and policy that doesn’t just affect Indigenous Australians”.

“Nothing is off the table and that to me is creating separate classes of people in this country,” she said.

“There is enormous goodwill out there for Indigenous Australians. And that is what the yes camp are banking on, manipulating that goodwill to provide the outcome that they want.”

Senator Liddle said a national Voice would not be helpful for state-based issues, such as rising CBD crime and anti-social behaviour or wider social issues in the Far North’s APY Lands.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will inject himself into the centre of the Yes case but the federal Opposition are opposed.

Indigenous campaigner Dean Parkin, who is heading the Yes campaign. Picture: Liam Kidston

In a speech on Friday, the PM said the Voice had no right of veto, was not a funding body and would make the mistake “of thinking that if we just keep repeating the same-old approach of doing things with the best of intentions … somehow we’ll get a different result”.

A referendum date is unknown but federal law states it must be held between October and December.

Speaking ahead major events on Sunday Indigenous leader Dean Parkin, the Yes23 campaign director, said Australians were “absolutely behind” providing recognition in the Constitution.

He said: “(It) is only meaningful if it can also make a practical change for people in communities. This is why a successful Yes vote in the upcoming referendum is a good deal for our nation.

“We get to finally recognise 65,000 years of ongoing Indigenous culture and history. It’s no wonder Australians are seeing this as a historic moment of unity for our nation.”

State Attorney-General Kyam Maher on Thursday announced the date for South Australians to vote on representatives for the state Voice to parliament was delayed to next year.