SA senator Kerrynne Liddle won’t rule out taking on Indigenous Affairs portfolio if offered, Jacinta Price firms as frontrunner

SA Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle has been a key part of Peter Dutton’s “no” stance on the Voice. Here’s why.

South Australian senator Kerrynne Liddle says she won’t put up her hand for the Indigenous Affairs portfolio on the Opposition frontbench, but won’t rule out taking on the job if approached by leader Peter Dutton.

Senator Liddle, the federal Liberal Party’s only Indigenous MP, is considered a potential replacement for Julian Leeser as the Opposition’s Indigenous Affairs spokesperson.

NT Senator Jacinta Price is seen as the frontrunner for the role, but would require Mr Dutton to increase the National Party’s presence on the frontbench.

Senator Liddle, a first-term senator, has been a close adviser to Mr Dutton and key to the Coalition’s “no” stance on the Voice.

Asked if she would take on the frontbench role, Senator Liddle said she was “certainly not lobbying anyone to take up the position on the shadow ministry” but did not rule out taking on the job if offered.

“I am absolutely focused on being a senator for South Australia and if the Opposition leader wanted to have a conversation with me about that, then obviously I would accept his call if he rang and we would have a conversation about that,” she said.

Senator Liddle said she did not need the Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister role to speak out about issues affecting Aboriginal people.

One senior Liberal said Senator Liddle’s chances of landing the role would be “nothing more than a long shot”, but added there were few other alternatives.

The Liberal source said Senator Price remained the most likely option, despite concerns about giving the Nationals another spot on the frontbench.

Senator Liddle later told Sky News: “Regardless of whatever the outcome is, I will be a significant contributor to the discussion and bringing some reality to some of the complex issues based on my lived and progressional experience”.

“I’ve always held the belief you can contribute to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through a whole range of approaches, and the Indigenous Affairs (portfolio) is not the only one,” she said.

Senator Liddle said the gruelling process of establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament is distracting the federal government from addressing some of the most urgent issues such as poverty and suicide and incarceration rates.

Jacinta Price is considered the favourite for the Opposition Indigenous Affairs spokesperson role. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

“These are issues that are right in front of us now. We don’t need to wait for a Voice, and even if the Voice does not materialise … people should be working right now on solutions to some of those issues that people are dealing with,” she said.

Senator Liddle left the door open to supporting Indigenous voices to parliament at state and territory levels, similar to South Australia’s legislated model that does not require constitutional reform.

But Senator Liddle said there was not yet enough evidence to prove SA’s Voice would lead to tangible benefits for Indigenous people.

In January, Mr Dutton said SA’s Voice was “quite different” to the federal government’s proposal, which requires changing the constitution.

“Once it goes into the Constitution, as you well know, it can’t be changed unless it’s put again to the people,” Mr Dutton said.

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